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What is in the Windows 10 Insider Preview 14316 and the Windows 10 Roadmap

What is in the Windows 10 Insider Preview 14316 and the Windows 10 Roadmap
Antoni Noguera

Antoni Noguera

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Microsoft has plans to launch the next edition of Windows 10 with the Anniversary Update. Announced a few days before the Build Conference in Redmond, it caught many of us by surprise.  But the announcement gives a far clearer idea of what the Microsoft intend to do with its plans to make Windows 10 a truly universal operating system.

On their official website Microsoft officially explained that this Roadmap is a snapshot of the innovations that have been launched, features that have been trialed with Windows Insiders preview builds, and some others still in development. A Roadmap to success.

In this video we summary some of the developments that will come in the Anniversary Update, but expect more surprises as Microsoft continues to add to its flagship product.

What you can and try, but … how?

Providing that you are a Windows Insider you can try some of these updates today. You can join this select club if you meet some minimum technical requirements and are not afraid to reinstall Windows from scratch and possibly lose all your data. If you do not want to take the risk, don’t worry because here at Softonic are happy to (it helps when you have a pile of PCs no one is using). We have installed the Windows 10 Insider Preview 14316, which also announced in BUILD 2016. Here the news:

  • Cortana universal and powerful

New features have come to Cortana to make her more powerful. These include syncs to allow Cortana to share information across devices connected with your Windows 10 account. That doesn’t only mean Windows 10 devices, it includes Xbox One and some Android devices that have the Official 1.5 version of Cortana installed.

Cortana has been integrated into more programs: she can now read your emails in Outlook and Skype conversations. The information collected allow you to automate some functions, such as hotel reservations, saving shipping invoices, and ticketing.

  • Command Line Bash

Bash on Ubuntu on Windows 10? Microsoft has convinced Canonical to work with them, and now Linux users familiar with Bash have the option to open a Bash console to in order to navigate Windows 10. However this does require that you run Windows in developer mode.

  • New extensions for Edge

In the 14316 build Microsoft Edge – the Internet Explorer replacement – has received new extensions. These include OneNote Clipper and Pinterest which join previously announced add-ons like Microsoft Translator. Of course Edge still has a ways to go before catching up with Google Chrome or Firefox, both of which feature 100 of extensions, but it is a start.

  • Universal Skype

After an official announcement on the Skype blog, it is now possible to try an version of the Skype Universal app (Skype Universal Windows Platform or Skype UWP). This replaces Skype Messaging and Skype Video apps to let you manage all of your communications in one place. Much easier. Gradually this is to replace the standard Skype app.

Skype Bots were also announced at the BUILD 2016 conference. These tools are being designed to enhance user experience and can already be trialed in some countries (Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States) for users of the latest version of Skype on PC, Android, and iOS. Developers have been invited to start creating Bots with the view of Skype as a potential platform for communication between company and customers.

More new features

The 14316 Build incorporates many other new features, including:

– An improved Action Center to make it easier to find notifications and the Quick Control system buttons (Wi-Fi, Brightness, tablet mode, Red, airplane mode). You can prioritize notifications by importance: Normal, High or Priority. You can also set the number of notifications per application.

Emojis updated to be more detailed, with a thicker, more expressive edge.

Improved customization with two main themes (Dark and Light).

– New ways to access your PC. Besides improvements to Continuum, the Connect app lets you project your screen to another PC wirelessly.

Virtual Desktop Enhancements that anchor the window. With two screens, this allows you to keep an application running on one while browsing different desktops.

– Battery is to replace Battery Saver, a tool that lets you view all battery related settings in the same configurations panel. This will help you modify apps running in the background. You can now even set Windows to stop them to save charge.

– Improvements and bug fixes and common problems, including the Feedback Hub (the place for Insider comments), Windows Update, and Progress Updates.

Messaging Everywhere allows you to send and receive calls to your PC with Windows 10. The preview of this app is available soon.

Read more about these improvements in the official article: Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 14316.

The roadmap

With the publication of the Windows 10 roadmap, Microsoft clearly outlines which of its updates are already finished, published already (see above), which have been canceled (interesting), and which are currently development. Below are the future updates:

– The ability to unlock your PC with your phone (Windows Phone and possibly Android) or even with your SmartBand (Microsoft Band 2 and other compatible devices). System starts will also be more comfortable and more personalized.

– Improvements to Windows Defender will make using Windows 10 in professional environments more secure, with improvements to both Windows Hello and Windows Passport.

– It seems that Edge will continue to improve with the addition of web notifications. These could see notes generated by services such as Facebook and other web applications even when you’re not using them.

– The Start Menu will receive updates. Microsoft says it will focus on giving better access to all the apps and additional support for touch input and smart pens.

– Picture in picture: it seems that Microsoft hopes to allow playback of multimedia content over other applications. This could let you comment on live video using Twitter without having to move between windows.

– Cortana will be made more prominent in the notification menu (Action Center).

– Improvements to Windows Ink. Input with intelligent pencils and be better integration with other services.

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Antoni Noguera

Antoni Noguera

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