What is new in Windows 10 creators update?

Windows 10 is based on Windows-as-a-service where new features of the OS are released every 6 months or more. The next update is due this year in spring, reportedly called the creators update. Creators update was announced last year by Microsoft and is code named redstone 2. In this article I would cover almost all of the changes from the Anniversary update called redstone 1.

We see what is new in Creators update section-by-section:

• Registry Editor now has an address bar to switch quickly between keys, Ctrl+L shortcut points to the address bar and shorthand notifications like HKCU are supported.
• Fonts in registry editor can be customized.

Windows update

• Windows update notifications can be controlled using a separate page in Windows update settings.
• Now you can pause windows update for 35 days in Pro, Education and Enterprise editions.
• Now you can skip driver updates from Windows update.
• Active hours has a range of 18 hours now.

WiFi and Internet

• Now you can set Ethernet as metered too.
• New feature to turn on the WiFi at a specific time.

Microsoft Edge

• New Tab preview bar in Microsoft Edge.
• New set aside tabs feature in Microsoft Edge.
• Now flash can be disabled if you want in Microsoft Edge.

Settings app

• Three and four finger gestures are now introduced in Settings>System>Touchpad.
• New Blue light reduction feature- That was renamed later to Night light. This is present in Settings app>Display.
• Troubleshooters have been introduced in Settings app>Update and security.
• New Gaming section in Settings app.
• Custom accent color can now be used for Taskbar and Titlebar.
• New option to delete temporary files in Settings>System>Storage. This option is turned off by default.
• Custom scaling is moved in Display settings of the settings app.
• Theme settings page now contains a link to store.
• New windows defender UI and dashboard app.

Start Menu, Taskbar and apps

• Programs and features has been renamed to Apps in features in Windows key+X
• Powershell replaces Command Prompt in Windows+X menu by default.
• The 3D builder app has been moved to Windows accessories.
• Mail and Calendar app is now pinned to the taskbar by default.
• Newly downloaded apps and games from the Store will now show download progress inside of the Action Center
• Now themes can be downloaded from Windows store.
• Cortana’s search box has a lighter shade.
• Apps would no longer be installed again after a feature upgrade.
• New Paint 3D app.
• Tiles can now be grouped into folders in Start menu.

Miscellaneous

• New Game mode to improve performances of the game.
• New OOBE improvements- The UI and privacy settings are revamped.
• Narrator now supports Braille language.
• On PC’s with 3.5+ GB of RAM, service hosts have been split to separate processes.