Windows 10 April Update Set For May Rollout
by Brett Howse on April 30, 2018 7:25 PM EST- Posted in
- Software
- Operating Systems
- Microsoft
- Windows 10
Microsoft has officially made available the Windows 10 April Update today, with a broader rollout to start on May 8th. Originally set to launch a couple of weeks ago, some bugs held up the release, but they have made their April target, albeit only just.
For those that want to check it out today, you should be able to manually check for Windows Updates to have the update appear for install, or you can visit the Windows 10 download page to manually run the updater, or get the ISO for a fresh install.
There’s quite a few new features coming to Windows 10 with this update that we’ll dig into shortly with a more in-depth look, but here are a couple of the standouts:
Timeline
Timeline is a way to go back in time to find information or documents you were working on in the past, up to 30 days ago. Pressing the launcher for this feature pops up a list of previous activities so you can easily go back into something you were just working on, or, if it was a while ago, there’s a search feature for Timeline as well. It sounds interesting, and you can even search back to documents or web pages you accessed with Office 365 or the Edge browser on an iOS or Android device.
Progressive Web Apps
With EdgeHTML 17, Microsoft is enabling the support of Service Workers, which are required for Progressive Web Apps. Previously, Microsoft allowed Hosted Web Apps in the Microsoft Store, but Progressive Web Apps look to be the way forward. Modern web technologies such as Service Workers, push notifications, and OS integration for deep linking in the Start Menu, or adding jump lists, allow PWAs to look and feel like an installed app, but with the benefit of being a web service that can be updated continuously. Apps like Twitter, which have become extremely stale in the Windows Store, can now be installed as PWAs instead for a feature-rich experience. With UWP never really taking off in any meaningful way, PWAs should allow the Microsoft Store to offer a wider selection of new applications.
Windows 10 in S Mode
Windows 10 S, which is the locked-down version that can only run Store apps, is no more, instead being replaced with S Mode which is available on any Home or Pro PC. Microsoft touts the performance and security of S Mode, but without a wide breadth of applications in the Store, it’s been a tough sell. Perhaps with PWAs, the experience will be better.
Nearby Sharing
This handy feature lets you share files to people close by using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It will automatically transfer over the fastest method available, and should help eliminate the need for hasty USB transfers.
Plenty More
There’s a lot more to discuss, which we’ll dig into in a full-length article. Improvements to HDR, security, and privacy, are but a few of the new changes to Windows 10 with the April Update.
Source: Microsoft
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cmdrdredd - Monday, April 30, 2018 - link
HDR improvements is something I'm very interested in. Hopefully they have it right this time.Duncan Macdonald - Monday, April 30, 2018 - link
So - a nice security hole to allow documents to be extracted by sneakernet without needing a USB port, some modifications to a browser that no one who cares about security or privacy uses, an enlarged recent items list and an admission that the Windows Store is so crap that people do not use it. What a massive list of "improvements".Brett Howse - Monday, April 30, 2018 - link
You seen concerned about losing control of documents. Perhaps you should look into Rights Management rather than complain about a feature to make sharing easier, which is something users would want.stephenbrooks - Monday, April 30, 2018 - link
I'm glad to see they're backtracking a bit on UWP and forcing the Store on people.Modular app installs are a nice thing, but they've got to do it in a way that doesn't force a whole new platform on everyone. There's tons of Win32 code around. It's not "legacy", it's the vast majority of what people want Windows for. So treating it as legacy is shooting themselves in the foot ("if I'm going to have to rewrite my whole application anyway, why not on Linux?").
PeachNCream - Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - link
Prior to this update, I thought Windows 10 S could be upgraded to 10 Pro at no cost anyway which was already something of an admission that making the Store the mandatory source of software was an unworkable model in an environment where Windows users are accustomed to getting software from outside sources.Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see them backing away from the Store a bit, but the walled garden approach was supposed to be a new source of income to monetize the OS. It does look like maybe in the next couple of updates, 10 S will be abandoned completely and this is just the second step away from their previously aggressive stance on it.
CSMR - Sunday, May 6, 2018 - link
PWAs and web apps in general are terrible for users compared to UWP apps. Memory consumption and performance are both 10x worse than they should be.Sttm - Monday, April 30, 2018 - link
Yeah I just ran the updater and it updated today. Usually in the past I had to wait awhile for feature updates or manually install it with the media creation tool.So far no issues, no apparent changes either though.
kefkiroth - Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - link
Hopefully Nearby Sharing will be the AirDrop for PCs. Homegroups can get pretty finicky at times.Wolfclaw - Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - link
Popped it on last night, would have been nice if it just acknowledged my existing privacy settings instead of making go through all it's attempts to mine my data. Interface looks a bit more polished and a tad quicker.nagar1234 - Tuesday, May 1, 2018 - link
How do i find my computer in windows 10,Microsoft has launched this device and developed many new features,so get here from this portal,i am all ready use this window,install and window 10 replaced your computer http://mycomputerwindows10.com here in the window menu,you can easily to redirected to the main menu and files explorer,then read more window 10 info on this portal.