Windows 10 20H1 (version 2004) finally seems to give Windows users something to talk about, after a year of vanilla updates. Using Microsoft’s Insider versions as a guide, you can expect the most significant changes in the Windows subsystem for Linux, Cortana, Windows Search, and your phone. There’s also the usual mix of small upgrades and “utility” amenities.
Before delving into the new features to come, let’s talk about timing. There are reasons to believe that Microsoft’s development is already complete on Windows 10 20H1, given a lot of circumstantial evidence: Microsoft’s Insider Fast Ring has gone to “future code” and the Insider Slow ring has only seen as bug fixes since November. (The last slow version was in January.) Microsoft characterized 20H1 as the 2004 version, usually the code for the fourth (April) month of ’20 or 2020. But in version 19033, Microsoft said it had chosen ” 2004 “to avoid confusion with Windows Server 2003, suggesting that the new version may arrive as early as March.
Microsoft officials have so far declined to comment. While we wait for the official word, let’s go over the biggest changes you can expect in Windows 10 2004.
Windows Subsystem for Linux 2: The Real Deal
When Microsoft added the Windows subsystem for Linux as part of the Windows 10 anniversary update in 2016, it was breathtaking: Linux, which Microsoft has publicly hammered for years, is now part of Windows! But the original Windows subsystem for Linux was hampered by the fact that it was not running a real Linux kernel. Some kernel modules, such as device drivers, could not run.
This has changed in the Windows subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2), which essentially runs a real Linux kernel in a virtual machine (even on Windows 10 Home). If you are using Linux, you will also be able to place your Linux files in the Linux root file system and access them through Windows File Explorer.
Unfortunately, there are still limits. Microsoft has stated that you will not be able to use VMWare or versions of VirtualBox before VirtualBox 6, nor will you be able to use system resources like the GPU or even USB devices in WSL2.
If that means absolutely nothing to you, don’t worry, you don’t have to run Linux at all and it won’t interfere with your everyday computing. If you make want to try Linux, however, there it is.
Cortana: on the move
Microsoft’s Cortana is now a little less of an assistant and a little more of an application. In the May 2019 update, Cortana separated from the Windows search box, and now it continues: you can resize the Cortana window and move it around your screen, like any other application. You will be able to type Cortana queries, as you did when it was part of Windows search.
Microsoft is also evolving Cortana’s conversational style to be less of a question-and-answer session and more of what it hopes to become a dialogue – “a personal productivity assistant that helps you with Microsoft 365 applications,” in the words of Microsoft. This has resulted in some rebuilding of the app itself, temporarily losing some capabilities as new features are developed. We expect that the app will still be a little basic when launching 20H1 and that the conversational elements will be added later. We will take a closer look at Cortana as we test it, hoping to discover new capabilities.
Windows Search: dial it a bit
Any breakup can be complicated, and Windows Search responded by hitting the gym and inflating the underlying search indexer to Instant Search results in the Windows 10 update for November 2019. The year Last, Microsoft also added the “Enhanced Mode” search, which extends the search beyond your libraries (downloads, documents, and images) in the desktop and other areas of the player.
But the bad thing has gone too far, so Microsoft is now recalling the ability of the search indexer to browse your hard drive, while waiting for times when the PC is less busy. Some of the other improvements Microsoft has planned for the 20H1 are currently appearing in some stable versions, including the four “quick searches” buttons that appear at the bottom of the Windows search box: “Weather”, “Top News”, “Today in the story “And” New Films “.
Windows Search also offers new compact previews of web pages when you search the web.
Your phone: more functions, more devices
Microsoft seems to be working hard to detach as many apps and features as possible from Windows 10 itself, in order to give them their own unique and independent upgrade path. (Microsoft’s new Edge browser is a good example.) Your phone has come its own way, with new features migrating from Windows 10 Insider channels to the stable version of Windows 10. We’ve looked at your updated experience phone last November, noting what you need to activate photos, SMS messages, interactions with your phone screen and even the ability to make calls. At the time, your phone worked better with a PC configured with the Windows 10 Insider program.
Microsoft already has several of these features enabled for the stable version of Windows 10. On a OnePlus 6T and a Surface Laptop 3 running the stable version of Windows 10, I can view photos, send SMS, make calls and receive notifications. . However, I cannot interact with the phone screen and the photos are limited to only 25 images. We hope that this functionality will be extended to a wider range of devices.
Under the hood: the good stuff
Some of the best features in Windows 10 are not explicitly mentioned and will only be discovered if you delve into the nooks and crannies of Windows 10. Based on insider previews that Microsoft has released, we can’t wait to try these new features:
No more kaomoji! Emoji 12!
About a year ago, the May 10 update for Windows 10 added kaomoji as an upgrade to its existing emoji keyboard. We hope that the next version will offer additional ways to boost your email, chat and social media applications.
A new tablet experience
If you hated the “tile” interface in Windows 8 but the “desktop” interface was too cluttered for your big fingers, Microsoft might have the answer. Everything is a little wider in this new mode, specially designed for Surface Pro 7 and other Windows tablets.
A network status page redesigned in the settings
The flow Network and Internet> Use of data The Settings page is integrated with the Network status page to provide more data dashboard. A small change, but welcome.
GPU temperature and SSD type in Task Manager
Okay, this is geeky. But we hate finding the type of SSD in Device Manager, and it’s handy to have a little indicator telling you the GPU temperature, even if third-party utilities are monitoring it anyway.
Of course, these aren’t all of the new features that we plan to see in the Windows 10 spring update. We even picked up one or two of our potential favorites, just to see if we’re right. We will continue to push and launch Windows 10 20H1 in the weeks leading up to an official release. Stay tuned for our review!