As promised, Microsoft released the Windows 10 April 2018 update today. But you have to go out of your way to install the update if you want it right now.
The company will begin a global rollout starting May 8th. That’s when users will start getting the update through the Windows Update process and when the latest version of Windows 10 will be available in stores.
If your impatient you can open Windows Update today and manually check for updates to get started, or use Microsoft’s Update Assistant if that doesn’t work.
Microsoft has also published an article providing more details about new features and changes in the April 2018 update.
Along with the new Timeline, Focus Assist, Near Share, and Voice Dictation features we already looked at, here are just a few of the other changes:
- Windows 10 S Mode is now available for Windows 10 Home or Pro PCs. There’s also a Windows 10 Enterprise with S mode option for commercial users. Switching from S mode to the less locked down version of Windows is a free, but irreversible process.
- You can set up Windows Hello face, fingerprint, or PIN logins from the lock screen.
- Tap-to-ink lets you start writing in text fields (like a search box) using a digital pen and handwriting rather than a keyboard
- Ink acceleration reduces digital pen latency by up to 50 percent.
- Clutter-free printing in Edge will let you send web pages to a printer without pop-ups and other junk.
- he Photos app automatically groups pictures of people to help you organize your collections, and adds support for 3D effects in the built-in video editor.
- Cortana has additional home automation skills and now supports playing music and playlists from Spotify.
- The Game bar has a new look and supports light and dark themes, as well as your current Windows theme.
- Fonts can now be found in the Microsoft Store, and managed in the Settings app.
There are also accessibility improvements including a single menu for adjusting vision, hearing, and interaction features and support for smartphone-like text suggestions that pop up as you type, helping users complete sentences without typing in every single word or letter.
As always, unless you need the update for some reason, it’s best to wait for the main roll out. Let the early adopters discover the any issues and bugs that might be left in there.
I have been using it on AMD Ryzen Summit Ridge and Ryzen Raven Ridge systems, as well as Intel Core Kaby Lake, Core Skylake, and Atom Bay Trail systems to gauge stability across every platform. As a well-acquainted Windows Insider, I can honestly say it has been snappy, secure, and stable for a week now be it in gaming, media consumption, office work, web browsing, content creation, programming, and web hosting with various attempts to break things. I can safely say that it is completely safe to use.
I ran into compatibility issues with some software in the upgrade. It made me uninstall my AV (McAfee) to update, then wouldn’t let me reinstall after. It claimed that the version made Windows “less secure” (as compared to what? Defender? :rolleyes:). An update from the vendor is required for it to work.
So check your software compatibility before upgrading. If there’s an issue with a critical piece, you’ll have just wasted a lot of time with having to roll back.