14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released a new build for Windows Insiders in the Fast ring as it moves one step closer to the RTM build expected to be compiled this month.
Windows 10 Redstone 4 build 17123 come with one big change: support for the High-Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) in the operating system.
HEIF is supposed to improve image quality but without eating up your storage space. On Windows 10, it’s optimized to come with better compression and capabilities than JPEG, GIF, and PNG, and it also supports image sequences, image collections, live images and video, HDR, and audio.
RTM coming later this month
Windows 10 users can try this new image container with the Photos app version 2018.18022.13740.0 or newer, though you should make sure you are part of the Windows App Preview Program for this particular app.
“This version of the Photos app has been updated for RS4 to support viewing the primary image inside a HEIF file and to guide the install of dependencies like the HEIF and HEVC media extensions from the Microsoft Store. Once installed, these media extensions enable HEIF viewing in Photos as well as thumbnails and metadata in File Explorer,” Microsoft says.
There are several other changes in this build, as well as one known issue, and you can check out all details in the box after the jump.
As for the RTM build, it should be ready this month ahead of the public launch in April. Microsoft will release Windows 10 Redstone 4 gradually to users across the world as part of an approach that has been used before for the other updates as well.
This means that not everyone will receive it on day one, but instead Microsoft will have more time to fix issues with software and hardware according to the configurations of users across the world.