14 DAY TRIAL // Now that Microsoft has finally shipped Windows 10 version 2004, or the May 2020 Update, the company can return to the development of new features for its operating system.
And after rolling out several builds specifically focused on improvements, bug fixes, and optimizations under the hood, the software giant is back with a preview build that brings tons of new features.
Windows 10 build 20161 is now available for the Dev channel – this is the former Fast ring, and Microsoft emphasizes that while new features are live here, they don’t have a release date. In other words, it doesn’t mean they’ll be part of the version 20H2 or 21H1 feature updates coming to Windows 10.
On the other hand, these are massive changes that provide us with a glimpse into how Microsoft wants to refine the experience going forward.
And it all begins with the Start menu. As we know already, Microsoft is working on refining the Start menu in Windows 10, and while it still doesn’t bring the Windows 10X design to full Windows 10, new improvements are now ready.
This polished Start menu gives up on colored backgrounds for the live tiles and adds transparency, which alongside the new Fluent Design icons looks pretty cool. The new look is available in both dark and light themes.
Microsoft is also bringing a fairly important change to the app switcher. The Alt + Tab experience, which so many people rely on for their daily activities, now include Microsoft Edge tabs too.
For those using Edge browser, this is clearly a really big change, especially as it makes it a lot easier to switch to a tab that they need. The good news is that Google Chrome or Firefox users can just disable this behavior, as Microsoft has added a new Settings page under the System section that is called Multitasking.
The taskbar is getting an update as well, not in terms of looks, but as far as the default icons are concerned. Beginning with this new build, the taskbar comes with different icon sets depending on how users configured their devices – for example, users with linked Android phones will get a custom taskbar with the Your Phone app pinned to the taskbar, while users with Xbox Live accounts on gaming PCs won’t see the Your Phone icon but the Xbox app.
Microsoft is currently testing different approaches, and the company says that taskbar configurations on existing accounts won’t be affected in any way.
The Windows 10 notifications are also getting improvements that should have been there from the very beginning. The logo of the app that sends the notification now shows up in the top left corner, and the X button in the right top corner lets you instantly close it. The Focus Assist notification and summary toast are now turned off by default. More of Control Panel is moving to Settings with this new build, as Microsoft says that some links previously pointing to device information is moved to the modern experience.
“We are also bringing new improvements like making your device information copyable and streamlining the security information shown. And don’t worry—if you’re looking for more advanced controls that lived in the System page in Control Panel, you can still get to them from the modern About page if you need them!” the company explains.
The Control Panel itself will be removed when the transition to Settings is complete.
Users running Windows 10 preview builds on 2-in-1 devices will get a new tablet experience when removing the keyboard. Microsoft says that the new tablet mode that is available as part of the May 2020 Update is now offered by default once the keyboard is detached, all with a bunch of other touch improvements. This should make the experience more straightforward.
All in all, this is a massive update, but what you need to know is that some of the features here are going live in stages to insiders. In other words, not everybody gets them right now, as Microsoft still wants to conduct a series of tests before making them available for all insiders.