What is new in Anniversary update to Windows 10

by Sumit · July 3, 2016

This Article describes what are the major changes from Windows 10 v1511 and Windows 10 v1607-named Anniversary update released on 2nd August 2016:

New Windows activation troubleshooter to resolve issues with windows activation.
Microsoft account is now linked with your digital license which activates windows.

The start menu UI has been updated.
Lists of the most used applications and all applications have been combined together;
Vertical bar added to the left side of the menu which contains settings,Explorer and file options.
The “Start menu now displays up to three newly added applications instead of one.
Applications that start with numbers, are now listed under the symbol “#” instead of “0-9”.

Cortana is available on the lock screen (you must first activate in the settings)
Improved synchronization of Cortana and Action center.
Cortana has been integrated with Maps.
Reminders are shown as a list and can use images and application data also.
Music search-Cortana can search for music and supports playback from Groove music pass(US only)
You can set a timer using Cortana.
Sync your notifications on the PC to phone and vice versa is enabled through Cortana.You can get information about battery,calls on the devices and cards exchange.
Cortana can read your Office 365 emails,reminders etc.
Cortana shows sound wave instead of random characters when it is listening to you.
Search shows Onedrive results too.

Added ability to show a specific window on all virtual desktops.
Switch between desktops is now possible with the new four-finger gestures on the Touchpad.

Indicators on the taskbar for Universal modern apps.
The system clock is integrated with events from the calender application.
The system clock will be displayed on each monitor when using Multi monitor configuration.
The Flyout UI of volume is improved-now you can change the source of the Audio and control volume accordingly.
Explorer Icon would be removed by default.

Notification Center icon is moved to the right of the system clock.
Notification Center icon now shows the number of notifications.
Notifications between mobile and desktop version of Windows is now synchronized.
Wi-Fi Icon now has an additional interface instead of the on / off network.
The options available to the new setting priority and the allowable number of notifications from the same application and configuration buttons at the bottom of the center.
You can reject any notification by clicking the middle mouse button.
Now you can remove/add individual items from the quick actions.

Extensions support has been added.The notable extensions available now are Adblock plus,translator,last pass and web clipper.
Tabs can be pinned,so that accidental closing of the browser doesn’t remove them.
Switch back and forth from web pages using swiping left or right.
Right clicking the back button would result in the list of web pages history.
Added an option to clean-up the data when the browser is exited.
The favorite bar can now show icons only,allows renaming and creating folders.
Paste and search and paste and go shows up in the address bar depending on the information present on the clipboard.
A warning displays when you close Edge when downloading is in progress.
The default download location of the items can be changed.
Added importing favorites support from Firefox.
Favorites are shown in a tree structure in hub.
When the display window is narrow,the share and make a note button get converted into an icon.
What’s new and tips page added to the main menu of the browser that leads to a page of Edge change-log.

Sway is merged with photos app.
Windows defender can be used even if any other 3rd party Antivirus is installed.
Microsoft WiFi has been discontinued.
A new tool to clean Install Windows.

Now applications can be run in light or dark mode.
Taskbar properties have been merged in settings app.
The apps can now be reset in the factory state.The option is present in System>Apps.This is quite handy when an app doesn’t open.
A network test button has been added to test the network.
Each subcategory of a category has its own icon.
Location improvements-now approximate locations can be used.
Screen reader and magnifier improvements.
Added a separate option for Windows Insider program in Update and security.
Active hours in Windows update-The computer doesn’t restart in the time interval of active hours.
The latest information on windows update link has been moved to advanced options.
Developer subcategory in update and security has been improved.
The search bar in the Settings app has been moved to center and is enabled by default.Earlier to search you had to click on the text box first.
In the subcategories,the search bar is on left side.
Windows defender has been improved.
Improvements to the subcategory bar-the colored text would tell the active section.
New icons in update and security and Windows update.

Miscellaneous

Optimization of onecore,the shared code of windows used to develop windows on all platforms.
New Windows Ink feature.Windows Ink is enabled by default which are having a pen as an input device..Read here
New Installation progress user Interface.
Improved battery life of a device in standby mode.
Implemented Native Ubuntu Bash support.
The User interface of User account control has been changed.
Added a new group policy to remove 260 character limit on paths of files and folders on NTFS,
New emoticons.
Command Prompt display has been improved on High DPI displays.
New Explorer, Network and BD icon.