Microsoft has made sure that 1903 version does not have set backs like in 1809. Since 4 years, lot of KB updates have been released for Windows 10. Alongwith them every year two major updates having significant features are also installed.
In the Windows 10 1809 version there was lot of noise in the Microsoft user community that it started deleting files, incompatibility with iTunes, problem with zip files etc. But this impacted very few Windows 10 computers.
But looks like Satya Nadella took this seriously. The latest May 2019 was not released as expected in April. It was initially released to a test user base as a Windows Insider Program and Technet community. Finally, they released it publicly in May 2019.
Then also, the Windows 10 19H1 update was released in phases to different users. In a recent media release, it was said that Microsoft is employing Aritificial Intelligence (AI) techniques to push the 1903 update.
Let’s see the new and notable features of Windows 10 May 2019 update.
1. New Options in Windows Update
2. Separate Search Setting
3. Control Brightness (Laptop only)
4. Cortana and Search are Detached
5. Virtual Machine light version (Sandbox)
6. New Blue Desktop Theme
7. Speed Improvements
8. Clean Start Menu
These 8 Windows 1903 features work in the latest OS build of 18362.175. Let’s see each feature in detail.
Windows Update Options
If you press the Win+I key to open Windows Settings and open “Update & Security” setting, you can see lot of Windows Update options on the right hand side.
In the previous update of 1809, most of the features were hidden or not available. For example, to pause updates in the earlier Windows 10 updates of 1803 or 1709 it was little difficult.
Now in the 1903 version, this feature is readily available with a click of a button. You can pause updates for 7 days and use advanced options to change the pause period. Change active hours when the system will not restart after updates are installed.
View update history to see which updates were successful or failed. Advanced options are available to fine tune update controls and settings.
New Search Setting
In the Windows Settings, you now see a new option “Search” with enhanced settings. You can change the privacy of your search results to strict, moderate, off.
Cloud content search is possible on OneDrive and Outlook. You can even search your personal emails, photos, documents and files in Microsoft account. Work or School emails, documents, files, people etc can also be searched. You can also disbale any option if you like.
Brightness Control from Action Center (Laptop Only)
This feature is not provided in desktop. Many-a-times, you see that your screen is too bright. This will cause eye strain and finding the right buttons on your laptop keyboard is a headache.
But using Action Center settings you can change the level of brightness to the degree you want.
Cortana and Search are Separate
Though it is little complicated to say that they both work individually, it is now possible to see Search and Cortana separated. Previously the voice search and orthodox search were tied up completely.
This caused lot of problems for users NOT using Cortana. If you want to block Cortana, automatically your search was also not working. But with separate icons for each, you can use traditional search and stop voice search.
Sandbox feature (Exclusive to 1903)
This is special for Windows developers who want to test apps and programs. If you have downloaded some software from the Internet and are unsure of its security, you can run it as a separate process in Sandbox. This will not affect the rest of the system.
Generally VM take lot of resources. But the Sandbox feature takes less CPU power and provides additional security from viruses, malware, adware etc.
New Light Blue Desktop Theme
You can have light and dark modes for your Windows 10. The dark mode will make your windows background black and can see the letters in white. This suits users with too much brightness and difficult to manage the contrast.
The traditional light mode of Windows 10 themes now have a different desktop picture. It is blue in color with a different picture than you have seen in 1809 version.
Improvement in Speed
In the start of 2019, it was found that a certain flaw was present in CPUs. It is called Spectre. This utilized the design errors in CPUs and allowed programs to escape the restrictions they posed.
Micrsoft released patches to help block Spectre attacks, but the PC performance reduced. But in April 2019 update, the speed penalties have stopped and speed your Windows 10 PC to normal level.
In the 1903 version, Windows 10 is faster and quicker than ever.
Less Cluttered Start Menu
In the 1803 and 1703 versions, you can see that the Start Menu was with lot of start up items and apps. The new Start Menu of Windows 10 introduced in 2015, is mix of Windows 7 and 8.1 style of start menu.
As a result it was not looking that great visually. Lot of items which included updates to apps, built-in and installed caused fur ore in the Microsoft community.
But in the 1903 version, it is less cluttered and you can clearly have the desired apps and programs required. The size of the startup items and apps can be decreased to small, medium, large etc.
