Windows 10 May 2019 Update Feature Focus: Light Themes And Sandboxes
by Brett Howse on May 24, 2019 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Operating Systems
- Software
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Wrapping Up
When Windows 10 first launched, the subsequent updates were pretty substantial in terms of new features, since the operating system was new and need a lot of polish, but over the last year or so, the amount of substance in each update has been much more manageable. That continues with the May 2019 Update. There’s some great new features, and some polish, but overall, it’s a minor step, as it should be at this point in the lifecycle of Windows 10.
Arguably the biggest feature that most people will see is the new Light Theme. Theming is something that is personal, so either you’ll like it or you won’t, but I think it looks clean and refreshing. I especially like the new default wallpaper, which takes the original Windows 10 wallpaper and gives it a new lease on life. The small changes to iconography help as well, and the Fluent Design continues to permeate through Windows 10, adding subtle touches here and there, such as the log-in screen.
Windows Sandbox is also a great addition to Windows 10, although it does require at least Windows 10 Pro to get this option. Having a lightweight containerized version of Windows for testing and development will be very useful for a wide range of industries, and if you are looking ahead, you could easily see Windows Sandbox becoming a way to keep legacy access for certain programs. The small 100 MB footprint on the system makes it no burden at all, even if it is rarely used, unlike if you have a 100 GB VHD file sitting on your drive.
Windows 10 continues adding new features for developers, and 1903 is no exception. There are even more updates to the console, and even Notepad got an update to accommodate Linux file support. There is clear buy-in by the Windows developers to leverage Linux tools where appropriate, and their work has paid dividends for developers who use Windows. The upcoming Windows Subsystem for Linux v2 will offer even more compatibility and performance, and Windows Terminal looks amazing.
If you’d like a full change-log of everything that’s in 1903, Microsoft keeps a running total on docs.microsoft.com
What will be the most key though is Microsoft having a smooth rollout of this version of Windows. The last couple of updates haven’t gone so well, so they need to get a win here. Time will tell, but the 1903 update went very quickly for me on several machines so far, but obviously my sample size is insignificant compared to the number of machines running Windows 10, which is now over 800 million computers. It feels like Microsoft is going to be very measured with the rollout this time, which should help them catch any major bugs before they impact a large number of people.
It’s also good to see Microsoft giving some control back to users on how updates get pushed out. Windows 10 Home now supports up to seven days of delay for an update. It would be nice to see this bumped up to perhaps a month, but something is better than the nothing that was offered before.
Windows 10 May 2019 Update offers a refreshed look, some nice new features, and less of the bloat of some previous updates. Assuming the rollout goes smoothly, it feels like a nice update to Windows 10.
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Brett Howse - Saturday, May 25, 2019 - link
If you want persistent you'd have to use full Hyper-V which is available on Pro. Docker also works if you'd prefer small footprint.chipped - Saturday, May 25, 2019 - link
Windows devs are shit, pretty much every app I have on macOS has HighDPI and works perfectly with per monitor awareness.I use my 15” rMBP with a FullHD external side by side.
My colleague has a 4K windows laptop with a FullHD external and he has a horrible experience. He has to change the laptop screen to FullHD so things scale properly.
It’s been 3 years that’s he’s had this setup, I laugh every time.
GlossGhost - Saturday, May 25, 2019 - link
Indeed, they should first fix all the issues that the DWM imposes with varying refresh rate monitors, like crawling back and crippling the higher refresh rate monitors whenever something hardware accelerated is being shown on the lower refresh rate ones. It's really disturbing but luckily it's mostly an issue when playing games, where if you're running with V-Sync off, the high refresh rate monitor doesn't get affected. And that's the culprit, running a wide desktop area over multiple monitors and sharing the same V-Sync on it, not per-monitor.Now to follow up on what you said, I also have an issue with Windows not being able to scale dynamically back and forth properly. It seems like they use pixel-based position and scaling on the elements and the tabs in the apps. Let's say an app that uses Windows Forms, scales by default well, putting it up on the DPI slider, makes it so that you need to extend tabs and fields and resize everything in it, so that it looks alright. Well guess what, when you scale back to standard everything needs to be resized and readjusted again. Tray icons still get blurry after multiple re-scales and resolution adjustments as well. Also, restarting explorer doesn't even show all the active apps in the tray.
Nobody seems to care about those things though.
leexgx - Saturday, May 25, 2019 - link
I'll guess I'll check what's changed in six monthsall PCs use pro with none targeted to delay feature upgrades for business use (witch is norm 2-3 months after ms has trashed a bunch of PCs) +100 days on feature upgrades +15 days on security updates as you can't trust ms any more to release a security update correctly any more
HStewart - Sunday, May 26, 2019 - link
Wow, Windows Sandbox is by far worth it. Awesome new punctuality.From now on my browsing is done in sandbox
Koenig168 - Sunday, May 26, 2019 - link
Good article with a lot of useful information. I'll probably update to this version if there are no major bugs uncovered over the next few weeks.B3an - Sunday, May 26, 2019 - link
This isn't at all a bad article or anything, but with every single article Anandtech posts on these Win 10 updates, you always miss out a ton of new features/changes.I'm not saying to cover literally everything, but i wish you'd at least show more of the new stuff and went in to detail on each. It's always hard to find anywhere that covers all or most of the new features in proper detail (like you did with the Windows Sandbox feature for example)
Kamus - Sunday, May 26, 2019 - link
"Arguably the biggest feature that most people will see is the new Light Theme. Theming is something that is personal, so either you’ll like it or you won’t, but I think it looks clean and refreshing."I see this as a regression. The dark theme should be the default for *any* emissive display. The white background on black text has been a terrible idea since the first day some one thought of it.
"Oh, let's just emulate a white sheet and black ink!" Except, emissive displays aren't a sheet of reflective paper, you are basically staring at a light bulb.
With that said, I'm a fan of dark themes, not full black back grounds with a 100% paper white text. Those just look horrible because they often lack a lot of context. I think that dark gray backgrounds, combined with white text is the best way to do dark themes.
Some people advocate for complete darkness on backgrounds for the sake of battery life on OLED panels, but it's a horrible idea:
Not only does it look bad in the first place, but it will also cause black smear, and the battery savings are already in place with dark backgrounds anyway.
zamroni - Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - link
For peace of mind, postpone the feature update as long as possible (365 days). I stay with 1803 for now.Flunk - Thursday, June 6, 2019 - link
That "new" search interface looks exactly like the interface you see if you forcibly disable Cortana. This is a real improvement for people who don't know how to hack the registry to get what they want.