Windows 10 features Microsoft just sneakily revealed 3. Scrollable rich tab previews for easy switching in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft was quiet about several planned features in the Creators Update. Blair Hanley Frank reports

Microsoft showed off a handful of marquee features, which we’ve covered over the past few pages, but the company hid 11 more new releases in its sizzle reel preview of the Creators Update. There’s a lot packed in there, including a new app, plus changes to Edge, Maps, Windows Defender, and more.

The company declined to comment when asked about these features, and they may change or disappear before the update launches this Spring. Fair warning.

1. Groove Music Maker app

It looks like Microsoft is aiming to compete with Apple’s GarageBand home music creation software with a new Groove Music Maker app. It’s been designed to let people mix instrumental and vocal tracks, plus apply basic effects such as reverb.

2. Revamped Windows Defender

Microsoft has focused heavily on improving the security of Windows 10, and it looks like that’s getting a further upgrade with a redesigned Windows Defender coming in the Creators Update.

In addition to virus protection, the app also includes firewall and network protection, computer performance and health, and family safety features.

Microsoft Edge will get a feature designed to make it easier to flip through a bunch of browser tabs. The video shows a user able to scroll through a horizontal carousel of rich tab previews that show the contents of pages before they’re opened.

If you blinked while watching the launch line, you probably missed this information flashing on the screen briefly. The Start menu shows a new Cortana live tile, along with an icon for a Battery Level Live tile.

The former seems like a good way for people to get contextual information from Microsoft’s virtual assistant, and the latter seems like a useful tool for people with laptops and tablets.

This looks like a feature that will be a boon to parents who are looking to keep a handle on the gaming time that their kids have available. A notification pops up over this Minecraft footage telling the player that they have five minutes left, though it’s unclear what happens when their time is up.