14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has started the public rollout of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, with systems across the world to receive the new feature release in stages.
This means that not all Windows 10 devices will be getting the April 2018 Update today, as Microsoft uses this approach in order to collect crash data and improve performance before shipping the update to everyone else.
Typically, it takes approximately three months for Microsoft to complete the rollout of new Windows 10 updates, so by the summer, everyone should be allowed to install the April 2018 Update.
New features in the April 2018 Update
As for the new features that are available in the April 2018 Update, this isn’t such a breathtaking release, but one that comes with a small number of new tools and many more improvements.
For instance, Windows 10 April 2018 Update introduces Timeline, a feature that was announced at the Build developer conference last year and which makes it possible to create snapshots of your running apps and return to a certain point in time within the last 30 days.
Additionally, the April 2018 Update comes with several Microsoft Edge improvements, though there’s nothing too exciting in this department. There are lots of small touches making Edge a more powerful alternative to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but other than that, it’s still Edge as you know it.
Windows 10 April 2018 Update introduces Near Share, a feature that enables sharing between Windows 10 devices using Bluetooth, as well as an improved version of Quiet Hours, now called Focus Assist. With this feature, users can automatically silent notifications according to defined schedule, or even have them switched to silent when playing games or projecting to a bigger screen.
This new Windows 10 update also makes more subtle changes and refinements to the Windows experience, and Fluent Design is now available across the entire operating system, with the taskbar itself now featuring the Acrylic blur effect. The Settings app has also been refined with new options, and the Microsoft Store brings access to Fonts, while font configuration options are available in Settings.
Overall, the Windows 10 April 2018 Update is a welcome upgrade, and users who can make the switch already are recommended to do so as soon as possible.
The next feature release on Microsoft’s product roadmap is Redstone 5 scheduled to launch in the fall of 2018.