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.
Latest Windows 10 Redstone builds finally start seeing UI improvements
Kicking things off this week, WinBeta revealed that internal Redstone builds had finally started seeing UI improvements make their way down development branches. These new UI improvements make the operating system feel a lot more polished than currently, which is exactly what Microsoft wants considering how “unfinished” Windows 10 Mobile feels right now.
Microsoft recently began flighting its first UI changes in internal builds this past week, with live tiles that now fade in and out when resizing as well as improvements to how the lock screen and login UI transition between each other. It is expected that these changes will be available in the next Insider drop, which could drop this week or next week.
Windows 10 market share climbs to nearly 13%
Windows 10 is doing rather well when it comes to market share it seems, as this week new numbers revealed that Windows 10 was now installed on 13% of PCs worldwide. This is an impressive number considering Windows 10 has only been on the market for less than a year, with Microsoft pushing Windows 10 via the desktops of Windows 7 and 8.1 this is not all surprising.
According to the stats, Windows 10 continues a consistent monthly share gain of nearly 1%, to 12.82% in February from 11.85% in January, and 9.96% in December last year. This is certainly good news for Microsoft, who went so far as to make the update free for Windows 7 and 8.1 to drive adoption. Positive reaction in the enterprise sector means the company should also not have to worry about getting a large number of users in the future. The goal is one billion devices running Windows, and it seems there has not been a back-step for Microsoft in reaching it.
Windows 10 receives cumulative update KB3140743, now at build 10586.122
A new cumulative update for Windows 10 was also released this week, packing lots of new bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements much like last time. Cumulative updates don’t include any new features usually, and that is the case with this cumulative update, which brings the Windows 10 build number to 10586.122.
Here are the fixes:
- Improved reliability in numerous areas, including OS and Windows Update installation, startup, installing and configuring Windows for the first time, authentication, resuming from hibernation, shutdown, kernel, Start menu, storage, Windows Hello, display modes, Miracast, AppLocker, Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge browser, network connectivity and discovery, and File Explorer.
- Improved performance in video thumbnail generation, NetLogon, Windows Store, and standby power consumption.
- Improved support for devices including some wearables, displays, and printer scenarios.
- Reset app default when a registry setting is deleted or corrupted and streamlined notification about the corruption.
- Fixed an issue causing favorites to be lost after updates are installed.
- Fixed several issues that individually could cause certain apps to fail to launch, update, or allow in-app purchases.
- Improved quality of Cortana voices and translations of multiple languages of an Internet Explorer dialog box.
- Improved support for apps, fonts, graphics and display, airplane mode, Group Policy, PowerShell MDM, Windows Journal, Microsoft Edge, printing, touch display, roaming credentials, Push-Button Reset, Windows UX, local and streaming video, audio quality, error reporting, USMT, and VHD creation.
Windows 10 Redstone: Cortana to get smarter with text/app alerts and more
WinBeta also revealed this week that Cortana would be getting smarter with Redstone, allowing the virtual assistant to send notifications to your PC when your phone receives a notification or when your phones battery is low. This is all part of Microsoft’s wider vision of Continuum, in which it hopes to bring continuity-like functionality to Windows 10.
This functionality is expanded from what is already possible with todays version of Cortana, which will simply alert you when you miss a phone call. Redstone will introduce the ability to include additional apps and features to be alerted by, which also means notification centers will no longer be out of sync across devices.
Windows 10 Redstone: Second wave of updates coming in 2017
In what was the biggest news this week, WinBeta exclusively revealed that Windows 10 Redstone’s second wave of updates would arrive in the Spring of 2017, meaning it has been delayed ever so slightly. WinBeta also confirmed that the first wave of Redstone updates would be launching in June this year, packing a number of new features and changes to the Universal Windows Platform.
There will also be a bigger focus on universal AAA video game titles between Xbox and PC, which is something we have already started seeing as of recently. In short, the Windows Store in RS1 aims to be a hub for all media-related content on the Windows platform, accessible from any Windows 10 device.
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Redstone Preview build 14279
Finally, Microsoft dropped another new Insider build of Windows 10 Redstone this week which included a new UI update to the lock screen, as well as more Cortana improvements such as the ability to have her to remember something without the need of additional information.
So there you have it, another week of Windows 10 news in the bag! What was your favorite story? Let us know below.
