Whoa! That wasn't expected. Unlike the previous Windows 10 updates, Microsoft has totally skipped over the Release Preview ring and made its newest version of Windows 10 available for everyone.
After months of gruelling testing, Microsoft has finally released Windows 10 1809 to the public. Also known as Redstone 5 or the October 2018 Update, the latest feature update brings a number of exciting new features and performance improvements to the users. While the public rollout is expected to take months before everyone can get their hands on the latest Windows 10 version, you can choose to manually install it on your machines right away.
As for the devoted Insiders, they have now moved on to the testing and development process of Windows 10 19H1, which will be the first of the two major upgrades planned for the operating system for 2019. It also appears that the Redmond software maker is letting go of the "Redmond" codename and the future work-in-progress updates will be assigned a number based on the year they are getting released in.
Some of the top Windows 10 1809 features
Back to the currently hot news - the release of Windows 10 October 2018 Update. While not many users are excited about this update as they were for the April 2018 Update, the latest version does bring quite a handful of small new features and improvements. These include but are definitely not limited to:
- Dark mode for File Explorer: With October 2018 Update, Windows 10 gets its own dark mode. Head over to Settings > Personalization > Colors and scroll down to the bottom. Choose Dark under Choose your default app mode.
- Diagnostic Data Viewer app: Microsoft now allows you to review diagnostic data in Settings to deal with all those telemetry concerns.
- Fewer restarts prompted by Windows updates: you will now see more prompts that are designed to avoid unexpected update installation and subsequent restarts.
- You Phone app: Along with enabling you to send and receive text messages using your PC, Your Phone also offers Android users to view their phone's photos on their PC, offering easy access. The app is also available for iPhone users but the functionality for them is currently limited to sharing Edge links.
- Timeline on phone: PC’s timeline is now available on your phone. "You can scroll back in time to find the files and websites you were using on your phone, computer and tablet," Microsoft explains. "Basically, you can pick up where you left off, wherever you left off."
- New screenshot tool: Known as Snip & Sketch (Windows key + Shift + S), you can now copy a rectangle, a freeform region, or a full screen and then annotate it in the app, save, share, or paste it. The old Snipping Tool is expected to be deprecated in the future.
- Block autoplay videos in Edge: You can now block videos that play automatically to prevent web pages from playing videos automatically.
- Separate font slider to make text easier to read: Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Display > Make text bigger to increase text size across without the need to increase scaling of the entire interface.
- Improved Clipboard known as Cloud Clipboard: You need to learn a new shortcut (Windows key + V) to see a scrolling list of recent items copied to the Clipboard. The new Clipboard experience also syncs across your Windows devices.
- SwiftKey: SwiftKey will now power the typing experience on Windows when using the touch keyboard. Available languages include English (United States), English (United Kingdom), French (France), German (Germany), Italian (Italy), Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), and Russian.
- Battery details of Bluetooth devices: All connected Bluetooth devices will now report their battery lives.
- Emoji 11 is live too! Windows 10 October 2018 Update finally supports all the new emojis from Emoji 11. Use ( Windows key + . ) or ( Windows key + ; ) to start searching.
Along with the above changes and improvements, Windows 10 1809 is bringing numerous improvements and adjustments to the Game Bar, Windows Search, Settings, Edge, and Windows Shell. Windows Security, previously Windows Defender Security Center, has also received a Fluent Design overhaul.
Microsoft has opened the floodgates (be warned of the compatibility issues), which means you can update your machines right away. You can also clean install the latest version through the two ways shared in this guide. If you aren't a manual download kind of a person, simply head over to Settings > Update & security > Windows Update to check if Windows 10 1809 is available for your PC.
Direct download Windows 10 ISO files for your PC | Don't forget to make sure your PC can run this latest Windows 10 version (checklist)
About the author: Rafia joined Wccftech in 2012 as a tech reporter. She is currently working on stories focusing on people and technologies that are turning Microsoft into a “company to watch” again. She is also responsible for collaborating with tech makers and e-commerce platforms to bring annoying but tempting deals to our readers.
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