Microsoft released two new Windows 10 preview builds for Insiders in the Fast ring and the Skip Ahead program. Here is a look at what’s new.
Microsoft today released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17101 to Insiders in the Fast ring. And, if you are in the Skip Ahead ring, you have access to preview Build 17604 which is the first look at Redstone 5 — the next major feature update. Both builds have the same feature set for this launch. Here is a look at some of the notable new features to expect.
Windows 10 Preview Build 17101 and RS5 17604
The emoji experience has been updated to include redesigned emoji as well as more languages added to emoji search. You can now search for emoji by keyword in over 150 locales including France, Germany, Spain, and more.
You will now have full UWP file system access. In her post, Dona Sarkar writes, “This capability will be granted on a per-app basis by Microsoft. If a UWP app has the broad file system access restricted capability, you will receive a consent dialog prompting you to accept or deny the request. If at any time you change your mind about the decision, you can go to Settings > Privacy where you’ll find a new Settings page for File System Access.”
There are new features for Windows 10 Pro Workstation that will be of interest to IT admins. There is a new productivity focused out-of-box-applications in the Start menu. Also available to workstations is a new power scheme called “Ultimate Performance” which is geared toward demanding workloads that require maximum performance. You will find the new Ultimate Performance feature in Power Settings.
Here is a look at the other changes, improvements, and fixes in this latest build:
- We fixed an issue from the last flight were some PCs failed to resume from hibernate (requiring a hard reboot to recover).
- We fixed an issue resulting in 3 and 4 finger gestures on the touchpad being unresponsive in the last two flights.
- We fixed an issue after upgrading to the last flight where Start didn’t work for Insiders who’d had HomeGroup added as a folder to appear on Start.
- We’ve updated the touch keyboard so that if you try to shapewrite in an unsupported text field or when the typing resources aren’t installed, you won’t see the shapewriting trail as you swipe your finger over the keys.
- We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard showed an English layout with no IME on/off key when an East Asian keyboard is the only input method on your system.
- We fixed an issue where if you install a font product from the Microsoft Store, then later install a new build (feature update), the Store package will remain installed, but the fonts within the package are not installed. Until this is fixed, the temporary workaround is to uninstall the product from the Apps page in Settings, then re-acquire the product from the Store.
- We fixed an issue where the touch keyboard might stop invoking automatically after locking the PC and then unlocking the PC by using the touch keyboard to enter your PIN or password.
- We fixed an issue where the Japanese IME sometimes wouldn’t turn on correctly.
- We fixed an issue where the floating dictation UI could be unexpectedly tiny.
- We fixed an issue that could result in the mouse cursor suddenly jump to screen corner while mouse was moving in a List Control.
- We fixed an issue that could result in tabs hanging and not loading content recently in Microsoft Edge after using the browser for a few days with an adblocker enabled.
- We fixed an issue resulting in newly installed Microsoft Edge extensions not appearing in the Extensions pane in the last two flights.
- We fixed an issue in Microsoft Edge where favicons in light theme were unexpectedly getting black backgrounds.
- We fixed an issue that could result in UWP apps sometimes launching as small white rectangular boxes.
- We fixed an issue resulting in certain fingerprint readers not working in recent flights.
- We fixed an issue where Windows Hello failed to work on Surface Laptops with the last build.
- We fixed an issue that could result in the labels for files on the desktop overlapping their icons.
- We’re updating the “Advanced graphics settings” link on the Display Settings page to now just say “Graphics Settings”.
- When your volume is muted, the volume icons in the Sound Settings page will also now appear muted.
- If you click the Reset button on the App volume and device preferences page, it will now also reset any app specific volumes you’ve set back to default (100%).
- We fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x80070057 in recent builds.
- We fixed an issue resulting in app updates failing in the Microsoft Store with error 0x803FB005 in recent builds.
- We fixed an issue where bringing up Game bar using the Xbox button on an Xbox One controller didn’t work in some games.
- We fixed an issue where in the text box for the Mixer stream title using non-character keys (e.g. Tab, Delete, Backspace, etc.) might cause the game to hang for a few seconds.
- We fixed an issue where keyboard and mouse input might not work correctly in the Game bar when playing a first person game (e.g. Minecraft).
- We fixed an issue where in some games—such as Destiny 2 and Fortnite—mouse and keyboard input would still go to the game while Game bar was open.
- We fixed an issue during first shutdown/boot, or reboot, where for some users the device goes into a boot loop and the OS never loads.
Of course, there are many known issues and other changes for both builds. Make sure to read Dona Sarkar’s post to get a full list of all new features, known issues, and developer notes. This includes more clarity for Insiders about the Skip Ahead program, too.
Another thing to note is the introduction of the Windows App Preview Program. This will allow Insiders in the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings to have access to the latest Windows 10 app updates. It’s an opt-in program and will provide previews for the following apps:
- Feedback Hub
- Microsoft Photos
- Microsoft Sticky Notes
- Microsoft Tips
- Paint 3D
- Windows Alarms & Clock
- Windows Calculator
- Windows Camera
- Windows Mixed Reality Viewer
- Windows Voice Recorder
To opt-in to the Windows App Preview Program, go to Settings or About page of an app and click the “Join Preview” button.
Do you like the new features you see coming to Windows 10? Let us know in the comment section below or for further discussions, check out our Windows 10 Forums.