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April 2018 update for Windows 10: All new features at a glance

Image: Neowin
(Post picture: © 2018 Neowin)

After a few delays, the April 8 update for Windows 2018 was released for most users on May 10th. I have it on mine Asus Zenbook UX530UX installed and looked at it more closely.

The update, which was originally to be called Spring Creators Update, was already available in my case on April 30th via the Windows Update Tool. It took about 30 minutes to download and install the update. This is because with the major feature updates from Microsoft, the OS is completely reinstalled. It was noticeable that afterwards Backup & Sync was reset by Google, otherwise I found everything as before the download. But what exactly is this update? We have version 1803 here under the code name Redstone 4.

design changes

The new design language of Windows 10 is now called Fluent Design. In connection with this, there are now some nice design changes. Within Windows, for example, it is noticeable that elements are shaded differently depending on how I move my cursor to them. What is also strange is that the sidebar in the system settings now appears in white or black, depending on which of the two colors you have selected for the rest of the UI. So far it has always been the case in Windows 10 that the taskbar was completely opaque. Now this is no longer the case.

Timeline feature

A lot is said in advance about the new timeline of the April 2018 updateprochen. These can be found where the overview of the virtual desktops and the open apps used to be. Now you can see all the things that you have done with your device within the last 30 days. However, this only applies to Proprograms from Microsoft. The activities of other applications, with the photo editorprogram GIMP as an exception will be lost. What is practical, however, is that this list can be synchronized with other Windows 10 devices, so that you can continue on other devices where you left off elsewhere. Both devices must be connected to the same Microsoft account.

Above the timeline you can still see which windows and which desktops are currently active.

Pin contacts to the taskbar

Since the last major feature update, there is an icon in the taskbar that you can use to quickly access your contacts. Now you can pin individual people directly to the taskbar. To do this, you have to open an entry via the list, then it will be automatically added to the bar. A maximum of 10 contacts can be displayed at the same time, but I only had space for three at the same time because I had quite a few Programme on the taskbar.

New features for Edge Browser

Some innovations are now also available for Microsoft's own browser. First of all, it is now possible to select a revised dark design for the UI. Then you can now use extensions, such as those from LastPass, also in private mode. Push notifications from websites are now displayed in the Windows 10 message center.

Individual tabs can now be muted in Edge (screenshot: TechnikNews, 2018)

So far, you could never change the website by entering the address in full screen mode, because the address bar does not appear during this time. If you move the cursor to the upper edge of the display from now on, the bar appears. Often there is the scenario that a website is playing music or sounds. With the April 2018 update you can mute the tabs of these websites individually. Last but not least, there is a useful new feature that can be used to allow Edge to automatically fill in online forms. To do this, you have to announce the most important data in the advanced settings of the browser.

Cortana

Cortana also got some interesting improvements. At the same time as the timeline, the assistant now suggests things that you have started earlier and that you could continue to work on. In addition, the Cortana notebook has also been slightly revised. There is one now Manage skills Equestrian. There are settings on topics such as Lifestyle and Proproductivity to find. In addition to these new features, there is now also the menu Connections. There, connections to other services can be established in order to access them with his language. In Germany, Gmail, LinkedIn, Office 365 and Outlook.com can currently be used, but other services such as Spotify should also be available in the future.

New emoji keyboard

With the autumn update, an emoji keyboard was activated for users in the USA. This can now also be used in Germany and Austria. You can call it up with the key combination [WIN +.]. Then a small window will appear with all the emojis.

Privacy issues

There are also some new features in this update with regard to data protection and privacy. First of all, it is now possible to view and delete analysis data that has already been sent to Microsoft. Then there are a few improvements to the data protection dashboard. There you can find the new category Activity history, where you can view and manage data, such as internet history, that has been saved with the connected Microsoft account.

Small innovations

Finally, I would like to mention a few minor new features. With devices that support Windows Hello, i.e. Surface devices or the new Dell XPS devices, you can identify yourself in the Windows Store to make purchases. In the start menu it is now possible to set which folders are displayed in the left sidebar. With the key combination [WIN + H] you can start the dictation feature anywhere in the OS in order to insert text into fields through speech. The new nearby sharing is also useful. This allows you to send photos, documents or websites to other Windows 10 devices nearby via Bluetooth.

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David Haydl

David lives in Graz and has been there for around half a decade TechnikNews, also editor-in-chief for some time. He regularly provides the site with news, test reports and the like TechnikNews Weekly, which was his idea to launch. He likes to spend his free time outdoors, listening to a lot of music (and clearly too loud) and some podcasts on all kinds of topics, and also likes to go running. He enjoys the time that remains with his charming girlfriend or in front of the TV.

David has already written 1245 articles and left 116 comments.

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