What Are Some Cool Features of the New Windows Update

Microsoft has released another major update for the Windows 10. October 2020 Update, version 20H2 is the tenth feature update for Windows 10 since the initial release. It includes enhancements to several features that will save the user time and improve the usability of the PC.

Version 20H2 will be distributed as a free cumulative update over version 2004. This means that the update is several hundred megabytes in size and will not take long to install. If you have version 1909 or older, you will need to install a more recent, but still free update. Below we will take a look at some cool features and improvements in the new update.

Start Menu and Notifications

The major changes in Windows 10 are affecting the Start menu, albeit subtly.

Live tiles are now linked to the rest of the system. They no longer display a user-selected hue. This should make the start menu look minimalistic. Instead of applying a custom color, the colors of the rest of the system are used. If you chose the light version of the Windows 10 interface, the tiles look the same.

In addition, the tiles have received slight transparency, through which you can see the wallpaper or application content. This makes the system look more modern.

The developers have removed the accented squares behind the app icons in the app list. Now the list only shows icons. It also makes the system more minimalistic. The icons presented earlier this year stand out even more brightly.

Version 20H2 offers redesigned toast notifications. They got a slight cosmetic tweak to look like notifications in the upcoming Windows 10X system. The changes are small, but the design is cleaner.

The behavior of the “Focus Assist” feature has been changed so that when enabled, it no longer notifies you about what you missed. You can re-enable it, but it’s easier to look in the action center.

Settings App

As with every major Windows 10 update, Microsoft continues to migrate settings from Control Panel to the Settings app. This time the ability to change the refresh rate has been moved.

Added copy buttons in the “About” section. This allows you to copy all the information about the device to the clipboard, which can be useful if the device has problems and you need to report the data to technical support.

The ALT + TAB keyboard shortcut also shows the open tabs of the Edge browser. This can be configured in the Settings app. You can show all open tabs, the last five tabs, the last three tabs, and no tabs. Previously, browser tabs were not displayed in this interface.

Secure Login Without a Password

It is now easier to log in without a password using face ID, fingerprint, or PIN. Just enable Windows Hello authentication in settings. To use this feature, you must ensure that your computer supports face or fingerprint identification.

Tablet Mode

The changes in this clause affect how Windows detects and reacts when switching between laptop and tablet modes. In the past, hybrid laptops switched from normal desktop mode to tablet mode when the keyboard was disconnected or rotated back. Now, this is not the case.

When the device is rotated to tablet mode, Windows changes the desktop to better fit the touchscreen. Searching in the taskbar disappears, pinned and running applications get more space, the touch keyboard icon appears in the system tray, and the fields in the explorer become larger.

The Start menu does not expand to full screen and applications appear in windows. The old Tablet mode made the Start menu larger, making it the home screen. All applications also became full screen, as happens on tablets. This option is no longer used by default.

It is unknown why Microsoft made these changes. This is not to say that the new version of the interface has become better than the previous one. Microsoft still needs an innovative tablet mode to compete with the iPad. Until he showed up.

If you don’t like these changes, you can revert to the old behavior in the Settings app. Then the applications will open in full screen.

Improvements in Microsoft Edge

In terms of performance, the updated Microsoft Edge browser is better than the previous version. It lacks some of the previous unique features, including the ability to set tabs to the side and write directly on web pages, but this functionality was not in demand.

The new browser variant has a new user interface and a new icon in the taskbar. For a more complete acquaintance with them, there are separate reviews.

If you’re not using Edge, it will still automatically install when you upgrade to 20H2. The old version of the browser changes to a new one and cannot be removed, just as you cannot remove Safari on macOS and Chrome on Android.

It might be worth giving the Edge browser a shot. It is based on Chromium like Chrome and Opera. Definitely for the best Windows VPNs in the world, the updated browser from Microsoft will do just fine.

Thus, we can say that the October update from Microsoft makes the operating system more sophisticated, including an improved Start menu and the Edge browser.