14 DAY TRIAL // Managing drivers in Windows 10 has long been a critical task, especially for device administrators and power users, so in the last few feature updates, Microsoft has been trying to make the whole thing a little bit more straightforward.
A recent preview build, however, has made the whole thing more convenient by adding a new drivers view in Device Manager, therefore allowing these users to manage their drivers and sort them in a way that makes more sense.
Introduced in an earlier preview build shipped as part of the Windows Insider program, the new feature has been officially announced today when Microsoft rolled out Windows 10 build 21382 for insiders in the Dev channel.
“As some Insiders have noticed, Device Manager now has the ability to view drivers alongside of devices. The new driver focused “Devices by drivers”, “Drivers by type”, and “Drivers by devices” views enable users to view, install, and remove drivers, while the new “Add drivers” action enables users to add and install new drivers across all applicable devices,” Microsoft explains.
“Managing drivers directly is more intuitive in many situations than working with them by way of the devices they are installed on, so we hope that developers and power users alike will enjoy the added flexibility. This change was added in Build 21343.”
Possibly coming in Windows 10 version 21H2
So when is everyone supposed to get this new feature? This is hard to say, but most likely, the new driver options will be part of Windows 10 version 21H2 due in the fall.
The next feature update for Windows 10 is version 21H1, and it is projected to go live as soon as this month for the first wave of production devices. The final build is already available for insiders as part of the testing program.