Check Out The New Features In Windows 10's Latest April / May Update

Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 update just arrived  for PCs and tablets toda and it comes with a variety of small features that improve Windows 10 without totally changing the platform. Microsoft is only added  one major feature with this update, and it’s the Timeline feature that lets you resume where you left off across multiple Windows 10 machines. I think this would really come in handy sometime, especially if you work with multiple computers

Also there’s easy sharing, fast Bluetooth pairing, a dictation feature, and the ability to mute tabs in Microsoft Edge. Microsoft has also continued with the modification and improvement of the Fluent Design system it introduced with the Fall Creators Update. You’ll notice more hover effects when you’re using your mouse in the Start menu or notification center, and there’s a new blur effect on the taskbar:

TIMELINE

Timeline is the apparently the major new feature here, and it replaces the familiar Task View button that shows what apps are currently running on a system. Timeline lets you see not only running apps but also apps and activities you’ve used on your Windows 10 PC in the past 30 days. These activities and apps are synchronizes across multiple devices, so if you’ve been using a laptop for a document you can easily pick up the same activity on a desktop PC that you’re also signed into.

You can also combine Timeline with Microsoft Edge for iOS and Android, and access the smartphone browser history on your PC. Microsoft is updating its mobile Edge apps to support this, and it’s probably one of the main reasons you might use Timeline

DICTATION

Windows over the years has had a lot of dictation tools. However, this time Microsoft is creating a fast way to access the built-in Windows 10 version with the April 2018 Update. You can launch it with the windows key + H keyboard shortcut, and it will let you dictate into any app. Comes in quite handy when typing documents

MICROSOFT EDGE TAB MUTING AND PWAS

Chrome added tab muting recently and now Microsoft is following suit with Edge. You can mute loud and annoying websites with this feature.

Microsoft has also tweaked the performance and design of Edge. Microsoft Edge certainly feels better to use as a default browser with this update, but it still needs work to truly compete with Chrome. I actually love using edge as it saves resource better.

Microsoft is also adding support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in this April 2018 update. PWAs are essentially web apps, but they have the full support of Google, Apple, and now Microsoft across mobile and desktop operating systems

FIX BLURRY APPS

Scaling desktop apps has always been an issue in Windows, but this latest April 2018 Update is trying to make blurry apps a thing of the past. Windows 10 will now detect if an app is blurry because of a monitor change or if you docked a laptop, and it will attempt to scale it better to stop apps from scaling too small or becoming blurry.

AUDIO PREFERENCES PER APP

Microsoft is added some great new audio features with this Windows 10 April 2018 Update. You can now set the input or output audio devices per application. You could have Spotify audio blasting out of your speakers, while your browser audio comes through a headset. The new audio settings let you customize both the input and output per application, so it’s also useful if you use different microphones across a variety of apps.

QUICK BLUETOOTH PAIRING

Microsoft is adding a simple and quick way to pair Bluetooth accessories. Windows 10 will now produce a notification to quickly connect to a Bluetooth peripheral and pair it. Microsoft is supporting its Surface Precision Mouse for now, and the company is working with Logitech and others to ensure additional hardware will support this quick way to Bluetooth pair in the future.

WINDOWS DEFENDER NOTIFICATION REDUCTION
Ever get annoyed with those Windows Defender notifications that tell you Microsoft’s anti-virus just scanned your machine and it’s fine? Yeah, who cares. With the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, you can now suppress these notifications so you’re not told every single time there’s a successful scan.

NEARBY SHARING
Nearby sharing lets you easily share websites, photos, or documents to nearby Windows 10 machines. It’s not a feature you’re probably going to use all that often, but it works over Bluetooth and is similar to Apple’s AirDrop feature. You can share to devices that are colleagues or friends nearby, and it’s a lot quicker than emailing over a file. Nearby sharing is disabled by default, and you can set it to only receive files from your own devices or everyone nearby. Hopefully Microsoft adds the option to customize this further in the future so you can only receive from contacts.

FOCUS ASSIST
Microsoft is changing and updating its do-not-disturb mode for Windows 10 with this new update. Previously known as Quiet Hours, Focus Assist is a smarter way of stopping notifications popping up when you’re busy. Focus Assist will now automatically mute notifications when you’re playing a game or projecting your presentation to a screen. This stops annoying notifications during a gaming session, or equally important meetings when you don’t want your emails, messages, and other notifications being displayed to the whole conference room.
You can also let particular apps break through and still trigger notifications, which is useful if you have a messaging app that you still want to see notifications from while you’re playing a game.

GAMING CHANGES AND XBOX GAME BAR
Microsoft is making some neat gaming-focused changes to Windows 10 with this update. You can now customize graphics performance per game, allowing you to set games to high performance or power saving. This is particularly useful if you’re using a laptop that’s capable of gaming, but you want certain games not to draw the best performance in order to save battery life. The new feature is available in “graphics settings” in the main settings app. Microsoft is also redesigning the Xbox game bar so it now has a white or black theme with this update.
Watchout on How to get the Update here on naijatechguy.com

©NaijaTechGuy.com