Windows 10’s next big update
THE NEXT MAJOR VERSION OF WINDOWS 10 WILL BE ARRIVING THIS SPRING. HERE’S EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE FALL CREATORS UPDATE SO FAR...
THE FALL CREATORS UPDATE WILL ALSO LET YOU PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF IN APPS ON IOS AND ANDROID DEVICES.
ARE YOU READY for another major Windows update to come your way? Microsoft has recently announced the Fall Creators Update, due in September (we guess that technically makes this the ‘Spring Creators Update’ Down Under). Regular Windows watchers will note that the Creators Update part of the name sounds familiar. That’s because there has recently been a Creators Update released for Windows 10. You have probably got that on your PC now or, if not, you will very soon.
These kind of biannual-ish updates are now the norm for Windows it seems; Microsoft is showing no desire to jump to Windows 11, so instead, it’s updating Windows with new features all the time, including the new Paint 3D app.
So why is the name so similar to the update just released? Our theory is that the original Creators Update wasn’t as creative (or as well received by creators) as was hoped. And in turn, part of this could be that hardware partners should have mixed-reality headsets available for the public to buy by the end of the year.
Then again, maybe there will be some juicy new creative hardware this spring to follow up on the wonderful Surface Studio, which will reinforce the message that the update is for creators. Surface Studio is now fully available Down Under, as is the new Surface Pro and the Surface Laptop, unbelievably the first proper laptop that Microsoft has created.
Be warned: we don’t have complete details of what will be in the update yet, what follows is just a taster. We will, of course, keep you informed of any changes to the Fall Creators Update over the next few issues — and will take an in-depth look when it’s finally released.
One change you’re likely to notice straight away are design cues taken from Microsoft’s Fluent Design System ( fluent.microsoft.
This will create a more fluid experience across multiple devices, while further taking Windows away from the Metro (Modern UI) design we first saw with Windows 8.
The Fall Creators Update will also include accessibility improvements, not least to Narrator, Windows 10’s screen-reading utility. It will feature a device learning mode, which will enable you to send a command from a keyboard, a touch or Braille display and give you feedback on what the command does (as opposed to just carrying it out).
Other moves to improve Windows 10’s accessibility will include tweaks to make things easier for users with low levels of vision, including a more useful Magnifier which follows Narrator’s focus and offers new options for smoother fonts and images, and the ability to zoom in or out using the mouse wheel.
iOS/ANDROID INTEGRATION
The Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will also include some rather excellent new features for those of us who don’t have Windows Phones, which, let’s face it, is most of us. One of the big features of Windows 10 Mobile was that it could use Continuum. This is a technology built into Windows 10 Mobile that essentially enables you to use a phone like a basic PC — you just connect up a keyboard and mouse using Bluetooth, as well as a monitor via your phone’s USB connection and off you go.
When it’s released in the spring, the Fall Creators Update will also let you to pick up where you left off on apps on iOS and Android devices — like in a Word document using Office. It will also include a cloud clipboard that will enable you to move stuff between different devices, rather like Apple’s Universal Clipboard for iOS and macOS.
Microsoft bought awesome word prediction keyboard app Swiftkey ( swiftkey.com/en) in 2016 and it sounds like cloud clipboard will be the first result of that acquisition.
One smart feature will be called Timeline — see right, ‘Pick up where you left off’.
Another welcome change in the Fall Creators Update will be the addition of pro-level apps, such as Autodesk Sketchbook ( www.sketchbook.com) to the Windows Store. This is, in part, explained by Windows 10 S, the new, super-easy to use version of Windows 10, which is aimed at students. The new version of the operating system relies exclusively on the Windows Store for apps, so any sign that developers are getting on board is welcome.
But’s it’s not all pro-level apps either. Microsoft is encouraging developers to produce universal apps for the Windows platform, even Apple. It’s joining the Windows Store in the spring with a new version of iTunes.
The existing version of iTunes has been derided as one of the most resource-hungry and crashy apps ever to hit the Windows platform. And while recent versions have been much better in terms of these issues, it’s welcome news that Apple is working on a completely new version. Windows users will get the complete iTunes experience, including Apple Music and the iTunes Store, as well as support for iPhone and other Apple devices on any Windows 10 or Windows 10 S computer.
PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF
When the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update arrives in September, Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana will help you pick up where you left off on any device, even as you switch from PC to phone.
Although most of us aren’t talking to our PCs in the way Microsoft would like us to, Cortana’s artificial intelligence is useful in a multitude of ways other than speech. So, for example, it will be able to predict which apps that you might tap or click on next, depending on what you’ve been doing on your phone.
Switching between apps in Windows 10 has always been easy thanks to Task View, but in the new update, there will be a timeline aspect to it as well — so you can effectively get back to where you were at a point in the recent past.
Which apps you use — and when — will be tracked within a new section of Task View called Timeline, so if you need to go back to the windows you had open during your 2pm meeting yesterday, Timeline will find and open them for you. And because Cortana works on iOS and Android devices as well, it will also be able to suggest apps that you might want to use on your smartphone or tablet, as well as on your computer, and vice versa.
So if you just used Word on your iPad, your PC will give you the chance to open the same app and file when you switch over to your PC — a feature called, appropriately, Pick Up Where You Left Off. It’s a similar idea to the ‘set aside tabs’ option introduced in the spring Creators Update, which enables you to return to the web pages you had open during a previous browsing session.
ALSO COMING SOON IS A NEW ONEDRIVE FEATURE CALLED FILES ON-DEMAND.
Story Remix is another new app that will combine music, photos, videos and stories, enabling you to create new ways of sharing your photos and videos rapidly. You can also combine similar footage shot from different angles.
ONEDRIVE ENHANCED
Also coming soon is a new OneDrive feature called Files On-Demand. This will enable you to access all your files in the cloud from any device, without you having to download them to your PC or mobile device first. The good thing is that this won’t change how you use your PC, since the files appear in File Explorer just like any other file on your computer, and you can open them from within other apps using the Windows File Picker. Files OnDemand works on both business and personal OneDrives.