What's New in Windows 10's 19H2 Update, Arriving Fall 2019



[ad_1]

Windows 10's light desktop background

Windows 10's 19H2 update will arrive in the second half of 2019, perhaps in September or October. Also known as Windows 10 version 1909, this will be the smallest, quickest Windows 10 Update yet. It's practically just a service pack.

A "Less Disruptive Update" With Fewer Changes

Microsoft's John Cable explains that this update will be a set of features for select performance improvements, business features, and quality enhancements. "In other words, expect a set of fixed fixes, performance tweaks, and a handful of business features.

If you're sick of big Windows 10 updates every six months, 19H2 is the update for you! Installing 19H2 will be more like installing a cumulative standard. It should be a small download for a fast installation process-no long windows and old Windows necessary installations.

Computers with the May 2019 Update (also known as 19H1) will get patched through Windows Update and quickly update themselves to 19H2. This will happen sometime in September or October 2019.

With Windows 7's end of life looming on January 14, 2020, Microsoft clearly wants to avoid a repeat of last year's buggy October 2018 Update.

Other Voice Assistants on the Lock Screen

Alexa saying

In current versions of Windows 10, Cortana can run on the lock screen. Purpose Microsoft seems to be giving up on Cortana as a consumer product. It's fitting, then, that Cortana is making way for other voice assistants. A change will allow other voice assistants-like Amazon Alexa-to run on Windows 10's lock screen.

This is a small feature that should work automatically Amazon has added it to Alexa. You can talk to your voice assistant, and it can be heard while you're on the screen, providing an answer.

But, as Microsoft puts it, this is "A change to enable third-party digital assistants to voice activate above the Lock screen."

RELATED: Alexa Could Come to Windows 10 Lock Screen

Calendar Event Creation From the Taskbar

Adding a calendar event from Windows 10's panel
Microsoft

If you use Windows 10's calendar app, it just got better. If you do not, it's easier to start. You can now create calendar events directly from the taskbar. Just click on the calendar to open the calendar view. From here, you can click on a date and start a new calendar event. You can specify a name, time, and location from here.

Before this update, the calendar "flyout" on the taskbar displayed calendar events-but you had to create those events in the Calendar app. Any events you add will still appear in Windows 10's Calendar app, too.

Notification Management Improvements

Notification demonstration graphics on Windows 10
Microsoft

This is some of the things you need in this update. When configuring notifications for an application, there are now images that show exactly what "notification banners" and "notifications in action center" are.

Windows 10 will now let you disable the sounds that play when a notification appears. This setting is available on the Settings> System> Notifications & Actions pane. Previously, you could disable notification sounds-but you had to disable them for each app that shows notifications.

The Settings> System> Notifications & Actions pane will now default to applications more recently shown than rather than name. This will help you find the most notifications and configure them.

You can now configure notifications directly from the notification, too. Both notifications and Action Center notifications have options to configure or turn off notifications-right in the notification. The Action Center now has a Manage Notifications button that appears at the top of the Action Center, offering easy access to the Notifications & Actions page for configuring your notifications.

Performance Improvements

This update has a few performance improvements. Some systems will see battery life improvements, better scheduling of CPU resources, and lower-latency digital inking.

Microsoft says it's "made general battery life and power efficiency improvements for PCs with certain processors." That's vague, but some PCs should see longer battery life.

This update features some improvements to scheduling on computers with multi-core CPUs, too. As Microsoft puts it: "A CPU can have multiple" favored "cores (logical processors of the highest available scheduling class). To provide better performance and reliability, we have implemented a rotation policy that distributes work more easily among these favored cores. "

Finally, computers with digital inking features. These sounds pretty crazy have been pretty much a problem for the Windows 10 system. -Microsoft should have made this update years ago.

Enterprise Changes

Microsoft promised some enterprise improvements, too, but we have not seen many yet. Here's the full list of improvements, courtesy of several Microsoft blog posts:

  • Windows containers require a matched host and container version. This restriction includes the use of this method to minimize the need for this method.
  • Key-rolling or Key-rotation feature enables secure rolling of the MDL-enabled password on the application of Microsoft BitLocker protected drive. This feature will help prevent accidental recovery password disclosure BitLocker drive unlock by users.
  • We have added additional debugging capabilities for newer Intel processors. This is only relevant for hardware manufacturers.

Recent Improvements Have not Required an Update

The new Windows Terminal with a space-themed background
Microsoft

Microsoft has made some improvements to Windows 10 that have not been part of huge updates. For example, if you have an Android phone and a Windows 10 PC, you can use your phone to mirror your Android notifications to your PC. This feature began "rolling out broadly"In early July.

An early preview of the new Windows Terminal app with tabs, customizable background images, and other new features are available from the Store, too. Windows 10 May 2019 Update (also called 19H1), so you do not need a big operating system update to try it out.

Stay Tuned For Windows 10 20H1

Linux's Tux mascot on Windows 10
Larry Ewing

It seems like a short list of features for an update that's only a few months from release-and that's the point. We'll probably see a few smaller changes, but you'll have to stay tuned for Windows 10 20H1 in the first half of 2020 for larger changes. That update will feature the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL 2) with a Linux kernel and an accessibility feature that lets you drag and drop with your eyes, for example.

RELATED: Windows 10 Is Getting a Built-in Linux Kernel

[ad_2]

Source link