Welcome back to our weekly Windows 10 news recap, in which we recap the top news stories regarding Windows 10 for the week. Let’s dive straight in.
This is what the new Start Menu hamburger menu looks like in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
First up this week, Microsoft released a short .gif image showcasing the new Start Menu design in the upcoming Anniversary Update after a number of Insiders showcased a heavily dislike towards it. The new Start Menu incorporates a very nice hamburger menu and brings the Apps List to the forefront of the Start Menu rather than hiding it under an All Apps button.
Insiders have been asking for a better look at the new hamburger menu since the Start Menu design was revealed to Insiders. Hopefully Insiders will have an easier time voting in the dedicated survey from Microsoft about whether or not this new Start Menu design is good. For more details about the new Start Menu and a place to vote, click here.
Windows 10 build 14316 now available for Windows Insider PCs
Microsoft pushed out another Insider build for desktops this week, which packed lots of new features and enhancements over the last public preview build. This new build includes a new system-wide dark mode, improvements to Action Center and Cortana and a whole lot more. The build also fixed the following:
- We fixed the issue where on some PCs with TPM chips, such as the ASUS Zenbook UX31, you may have experienced glitchy audio and jumpy movement when using the trackpad due to the “tpm-maintenance” task running constantly in the background instead of once per boot-up like it should.
- We fixed the issue where if you use Hyper-V and have a Virtual Switch configured for your network adapter, you might see an error indicator (red-colored “X”) for your network adapter in the notification area of your taskbar.
- We polished the Wi-Fi flyout UI and fixed an issue where text entry into a Wi-Fi password field was noticeably top-aligned rather than centered.
- We fixed an issue for where when using multiple monitors and full-screen apps like PowerPoint or Remote Desktop would crash Windows Explorer.
- We fixed an issue where Cortana wasn’t showing Settings pages in the search results.
- We have updated the Windows Update notification after updates have been installed so now clicking on the notification will take you straight to your update history.
- We fixed an issue where desktop (Win32) apps pinned to the Start menu would sometimes move after updating to a new build.
- We fixed an issue where “Update and Restart” and “Update and Shut Down” wouldn’t start an update.
Video: This is Cortana working on the lock screen in Windows 10 build 14316
Cortana on the lock screen somewhat works in build 14316, after enabling a reghack. The functionality is still in very early development so for the most part it’s slow and doesn’t work correctly, but when it does work it is very cool. Check out the video below.
Microsoft highlights new features in the Mail and Calendar app updates for Windows 10
Microsoft detailed new features that have arrived for the Mail and Calendar apps over the last few weeks in a post this week, showcasing how the universal apps are coming along and how they are great alternatives to other rival mail and calendar applications. Here are a few new features:
- Personalization: We have added a number of personalization features that let you make the apps your own. You can now customize the background, accent color, theme and calendar colors. We love seeing some of the screenshots you have shared with us and wanted to share our own with you as well.
- Linked Inboxes for multiple accounts: We’ve heard you love connecting multiple email accounts in the Mail app, and also wanted these in one view. In December, we released Linked Inboxes. Now you can select which of your accounts are linked and see all your emails from those accounts in one place without having to switch between them.
- Deeper integration with live tiles, notifications and Cortana*: We’ve heard how you enjoy the integration of features like live tiles and notifications, and we’ve taken extra steps to make sure the apps work well with Cortana. Here are a few quick tips and tricks to try. Add events to your calendars using Cortana with your voice. Reminders you set using Cortana show up in the Calendar app. You can also start typing emails from Cortana and complete your prose in the Mail app if you want. We will continue adding more of these features so that your Mail and Calendar experiences leverage the full power of Windows 10 and Cortana, your personal digital assistant.
- Continued commitment to stability, syncs reliability and accessibility. With each of the app updates we’ve released, quality of the experience instability, sync reliability across your Windows devices, and accessibility are priorities for our team. Recent accessibility improvements to Mail app include a more predictable keyboard behavior, familiar navigation, and reliable reading for Exchange accounts with screen readers.
Windows 10 Anniversary Update roadmap suggests July 2016 release
Finally, a new Windows 10 roadmap suggests Windows 10 Anniversary Update will launch in July, which is expected as Microsoft did say the Anniverary Update would be arriving this summer. If you take a look at the Windows 10 features roadmap site, Microsoft mentions “July 2016” when referring to new features arriving to Cortana:
Cortana is also the best digital assistant at reminders, letting you set them in more ways including by pen, and [coming in July 2016] pulling reminder-relevant info from emails so you have the details at hand. And you can instantly capture your ideas by voice just by telling Cortana to take a note
So that’s everything this week, what was your favorite story? Let us know below!