14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has just released Windows 10 build 10061 to users enrolled in the fast ring of the Windows Insider program, thus shipping a new bunch of improvements ahead of the BUILD developer conference opening its doors next week.
Windows 10 build 10061 first showed up in Windows Update for a number of users last week, and only Microsoft employees were able to get it, but the company is now making it available for everyone who configured the technical preview to receive updates from the fast channel.
Surprisingly, the previous build, namely 10049, was not released to users who were enrolled in the slow channel, with the company explaining that there was a bug that prevented them from doing it and more or less forced the jump to a completely new build.
“If you’re in the Slow ring, we made the decision not to push 10049 out to you because of the bug with long upgrade times caused by installing all Language Packs. We’ll evaluate how 10061 goes in the Fast ring before deciding whether to push it out to Slow as well. The Language Pack issue is a good example of our approach to the Fast/Slow rings for the Windows Insider Program, and why we have two rings,” the company said.
What’s new?
First and foremost, build 10061 comes with the new Mail and Calendar apps that we’ve already seen in the leaked build 10056, so they both sport a more modern look that gets closer to the new UI also seen on phones.
In addition, there are several Start menu, taskbar, and action center improvements, and the star of the show is definitely the dark theme. Microsoft now ships Windows 10 with a dark theme configured as default and this is the first time the company does that since the start of the Windows insider program.
There are also several Continuum and Task View improvements, so the taskbar is now fully optimized for the touch, while working with multiple desktops allows you to drag windows from one desktop to another.
As usual, the new build is delivered via the built-in Windows Update feature, but ISOs could be shipped later this month when the new version is ready for the slow channel.