Microsoft Windows 10 October 2018 Update Will Deprecate These Features Next Month
Brace yourself, a new upgrade to Windows 10 is coming. As the name implies, the October 2018 Update for Windows 10 is scheduled to roll out sometime next month, though Microsoft has not issued an exact release date just yet. However, the Redmond outfit has given a heads up as to which features will see the way of the dodo.
The October 2018 Update will introduce a bunch of new and improved features to Windows 10, as these twice-yearly major upgrades always do. But Microsoft is also retiring a handful of features. Applications or code that depend on the soon-to-be deprecated features will not function in Windows 10 installs that have been updated with the October 2018 Update.
Features that are being retired include:
- Business Scanning, also called Distributed Scan Management (DSM)
- FrontSmoothing setting in unattend.xml
- Hologram app
- limpet.ex
- Phone Companion
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) management console
- Future updates through Windows Embedded Developer Update for Windows Embedded Standard 8 and Windows Embedded 8 Standard
Microsoft detailed in a document why each of the above features is going. For example, the company said it's replaced the Hologram app with the Mixed Reality Viewer.
"If you would like to create 3D word art, you can still do that in Paint 3D and view your art in VR or Hololens with the Mixed Reality Viewer," Microsoft explains. You can hit the source link in the Via field below for a full breakdown.
In addition to removing several features, Microsoft said it is no longer developing a few others, including the Snipping Tool, OneSync service, and Companion device dynamic lock APIs. The Snipping Tool is the one that stands out among those the most. With the October 2018 Update, Microsoft is introducing a new universal app called Snip & Sketch that makes the Snipping Tool redundant.
"In Windows 10, version 1809, we're introducing a new universal app, Snip & Sketch, that provides the same screen snipping abilities, as well as additional features. You can launch Snip & Sketch directly and start a snip from there, or just press WIN + Shift + S. Snip & Sketch can also be launched from the 'Screen snip' button in the Action Center. We're no longer developing the Snipping Tool as a separate app but are instead consolidating its functionality into Snip & Sketch," Microsoft says.
The October 2018 Update (otherwise known as Redstone 5) will bring a bunch of new goodies to Windows 10, including improvements to Edge, more refinements to the Fluent Design UI language, major updates to Skype, and more.
