Update of Windows 10 October 2018: the 10 best new features

The latest Windows 10 October 2018 update from Microsoft is made available to existing machines. All you have to do is visit Windows Update to manually trigger this latest update or wait for Microsoft to start streaming it to PCs next week. Anyway, the update includes a number of new features that enhance Windows 10, whether you're using it for work, games, or a mix of both.

More importantly, Microsoft is finally using Machine Learning to prevent future updates from installing when you use your PC. This feature alone justifies the update of the latest Windows 10 update today, but I recently tested the Windows 10 October 2018 update and here are my favorite news.

Microsoft is working to improve the functionality of Android and iOS phones with Windows 10, and the new Your Phone app is designed to consolidate these efforts into one destination. Your phone mainly works with Android devices currently in the October 2018 update and you will be able to sync photos and text messages. With your phone, it's faster to take a picture of your device and copy it and paste it immediately into a document you're working on.

The main feature of your phone, however, is the ability to send SMS from your PC, using your phone. This feature is currently limited to Android devices, but you will be able to send and receive messages in the app, which are sent from your phone. Microsoft claims to work to make the features of your phone available on iPhones, but Apple has limited access to SMS data in iOS. This will require major changes for this feature to work with the iPhone.

My new favorite addition in the Windows 10 October 2018 update is the Cloud Clipboard. You can access the complete history of your clipboard by using the Windows + V keyboard shortcut, which will synchronize the clipboard data on all your Windows 10 devices. This is particularly useful if you have a Windows 10 computer at home or at work, as well as a laptop to take away and want to resume where you left off.

Microsoft is also working to provide support for the cloud clipboard to SwiftKey at a later date, allowing you to copy and paste data between a mobile device and Windows 10. This will make the cloud clipboard even more useful for several devices.

Windows 10 has been in dark mode for some time, but it now extends to File Explorer with the October 2018 update. This is a pretty dramatic change from the usual white in the Explorer. files, but it now fits the rest of the dark theme of Windows 10. If you are a fan of dark mode, this new look is definitely for you.

The Windows 10 search changes significantly next year, but at the moment, the October 2018 update introduces new search previews in the Start menu. The search results will automatically appear in a new preview pane when you start the search. This is especially useful for documents because the content is now displayed as a preview in the search results. If you search for an app, the contents of the preview will turn into a list of files you've used recently with this app, like hop lists that appear as pop-up menus in the bar stain.

Microsoft improves how you can take screenshots in Windows 10 with the October 2018 update. Screen Sketch, previously integrated with Windows Ink, is now a separate application that can take snapshots. Screen and provide options for annotating them. A new keyboard shortcut Winkey + Shift + S will now bring up a zone selection tool to copy a screenshot and copy it to the clipboard. You can then annotate the screen capture before sharing it with others. You can also assign the print keyboard button to this new tool instead of having to use third-party applications such as Lightshot or ShareX.

Microsoft is still adding new features to its Edge browser with every update of Windows 10, and the October 2018 update is no different. You can now prevent videos from automatically playing back audio and better manage websites that you allow to play automatically. Edge also gets Fluent Design improvements with nicer tabs and new effects.

If you have a new, sophisticated HDR monitor for games or movies, this Windows 10 October 2018 update is for you. Microsoft makes it much easier to install the hard disk drive in Windows 10 and make sure that it is enabled for the applications and games that support it. HDR support in Windows 10 was a little messy before, so these new settings make control much better.

In addition to enhanced support for the hard disk drive, the October 2018 update also includes platform support for Nvidia's new ray tracing GPUs. Microsoft and Nvidia have worked together on ray tracing and DirectX now supports it with this update. If you own a RTX 2080 or an RTX 2080 Ti, you'll want this update so you're ready for games like Battlefield V ship with activated ray tracing.

Task Manager has progressively improved with Windows 10 and Microsoft will now tell you which applications run down your battery. A new column in the task manager classifies the applications according to their power consumption. You can close applications that consume a lot of battery when you are mobile.

Windows 10 now allows you to increase the size of the text you see in applications on the entire operating system. A new setting in the Accessibility section allows you to set the text size to the system scale so that you can more easily see text in places such as the File Explorer. or even the Start menu.

Microsoft makes some additional changes to its Windows 10 Game Bar feature with this latest update. You can now see CPU and GPU usage in the game bar, alongside the average of the IPS. If you're streaming, it's especially helpful to see if something is slowing down your computer. The gamebar also includes much better audio controls so you can manage what's captured when you record a clip or stream your game.