Windows 10 19H1 Build 18298 Brings Start Menu Updates, Improved Touch Keyboard And More
We imagine Microsoft's engineers are dealing with sore feet from having to stomp out all the bugs that were discovered in the October 2018 Update for Windows 10, but even so, the company is moving full steam ahead to the next major release. That would be 19H1, as it's currently called, and there's a new build available for Windows Insiders to test.
The latest preview build (version 18298) just got released to the Fast ring, which contain releases earlier in the development cycle than more polished builds in the Slow ring.
"As is normal with builds early in the development cycle, builds may contain bugs that might be painful for some. If this makes you uncomfortable, you may want to consider switching to the Slow ring. Slow ring builds will continue to be higher quality," Microsoft says.
That said, the latest build introduces a host of improvements and feature upgrades, including a consolidation of the sign-in options. In an effort to simplify the sign-in settings and "improve ease of use," Microsoft added another option to the list—the latest build allows users to set up a security key straight from the Settings menu.
Microsoft also made improvements to the Start menu.
"Sometimes you just wanna quickly start fresh—over the last few weeks we’ve been rolling out the ability to unpin groups and folders in Start via a new context menu entry. As of today, that option is now available to all Insiders in the Fast ring!," Microsoft says.
This was already possible for some items in the Start menu, but not all of them. That changes with the 19H1 release, otherwise known as Redstone 6.
Also based on user feedback, Microsoft tweaked the touch keyboard. Specifically, it programmed the touch keyboard to dynamically adjust the hit target of each key, based on what the software predicts is most likely to be the next letter typed. Microsoft did this to account for users missing the target key by a small margin.
"This is totally normal, but can impact the text prediction accuracy (if you end up pressing a different letter than expected)," Microsoft explains.
Microsoft also continues to roll out its Fluent Design language. In this newest build, Microsoft updated the File Explorer icon so that it "looks better with the new light theme." It's basically a darker shade for better contrast against the light background.
For gamers, Microsoft updated the Game bar. You can now view screenshots and videos taken through the Game bar, and share them directly to Twitter. Even if you're not an Insider, you should see this feature soon—it's currently rolling out via a Microsoft Store update to both Insiders and retail users.
The latest build also includes a host of general fixes and improvements—over two dozen in all, a list of which can be found by hitting the link in the Via field below.
