Download
The update will be released in waves to Windows 10 users. It can take 1-2 weeks, maybe even more before you have it.
ISO download (for those who can't wait or want to clean install their system): Media Creation Tool was updated.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10
Click on Download tool now, button.
WARNING: Reports from users are indicatating that the release isn't there yet for Media Creation Tool. Best wait for tomorrow.
Force Upgrade Method: (Thanks @Wyzzy Moon)
- Go here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12387/windows-10-update-history?ocid=update_setting_client
- Click on Get the Anniversary Update now blue button.
- Download and run the exe.
(you may need to restart your system, and check for Windows Update to show. If still nothing, wait 1h, and check for update again)
News:
August 2nd is the official launch of Windows 10 Anniversary Update (code name Redstone 1). This new version of Windows 10 is a massive update over the current version. It has new features, lots of bug fixes and polish.
Microsoft said that 28 builds of Windows 10 were released to Insider. This is more than the "path of the official release" of Windows 10 had.
Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/06/29/windows-10-anniversary-update-available-august-2/
Source: https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/07/29/windows-insider-program-next/
If you are an Insider, you are already enjoying Windows 10 Anniversary Update.
The full build number of Windows 10 Anniversary Update seems that it will be: 10.0.14393.10
You will also notice that Windows 10 version number is no longer version 1511, but version 1607
What is new?
If you are not an Insider, you probably don't really know what is new. So I have compiled a nice list for you:
New Start Menu
The Start menu has had a rework done.
The new start menu shows the “All apps” list directly as you open it now. On the left side, you can notice that folders and options such as the account button (to sign out, or change account settings) and power button, are located there. Clicking on the hamburger menu (as with other new Win10 apps) will show the item text if you don’t know what it is.
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As before, folders can be added and removed the same way as you could with the original Windows 10 Start Menu. The options are located under Settings > Personalize > Start > Choose which folder appear on Start. In the picture above, I have added the “Download” folder.
Improved Task Bar
Well I don’t know how you would call that. The task bar is the same, but now Universal Apps support what Microsoft calls “badges”. Fancy name to say the number count of notification related to the app. So for example, the number of new e-mails. So, if you have the Mail app open and minimized say, you can see the number of new e-mails it has. If it is a messaging app, for example, it can show you the number of new messages received.
Action Center / Notification button
The button on the task bar that shows notifications, and when clicked opens the action center, now displays the number of notification it has, and has been moved at the right most of the task bar, right before the minimize all / show desktop button, which is still present.
Rich Notifications
Talking about not notifications, new to this build is what Microsoft calls: “Rich notifications”. They are notifications that can carry components that an app wants. For example, it can have a reply box, or an image or buttons, and you’ll quickly see these things in action. This allows the user to interact with the notification without pop-up up the software, similarly to what you have on your phone.
Change priority of notifications
Talking more about notifications, ‘cause why not… you can now define prioritization of apps. You have 3 levels: Top, high, or normal. Only 1 app can be top, and that places all its notifications at the top of the action center. High will place them at the top of normal, and you have normal. You can define these prioritization levels, amongst other options under: Settings > System > Notifications and actions (click on an app listed at the bottom)
Customizable Action Center quick action button
The buttons at the bottom of the action center are now customization. Now you can’t put your own stuff, but you can add/remove them, and change their order. You can find these new settings under Settings > System > Notifications and actions.
Install Universal Apps without the Store
That is correct, you can now download universal apps off the web, and install them as you would like any Win32 programs. You don’t have to use the Store. Simply look for *.appxbundle files format, and just double click on it. When you do, you'll see this setup screen:
New Store Look
The Store app has been revamp. It has a brand new look, which in my opinion is a lot better than before, but still needs work. Under Apps and Games sections when you pick an item, it is now understandable on which platform the app is available (PC, Mobile, Xbox One, Holographic, or Hub), its minimum requirements, see its recent activity, and improved general layout making things more understandable. In addition, even the apps update section has been reworked. Now, when you go under [profile picture] > Download and Updates, you can see when your apps where last updated, and what version they are on.
New Skype app
No, this time it’s actually good! I don’t know what happened but Skype is actually good. That said… it is still in Preview, it won’t make it official in time. But in my opinion, it manages to beat any previous version of Skype app that they released since Win32 desktop app, and certainly not the garbage Modern UI Skype app. Anyway, the new Skype app support ALL Skype accounts, even if you have the aged old one, and you can have a different account, then the one that your Microsoft account is linked to. Once you sign-in to your account (it will auto-sign in for the very first time to the same account as your Microsoft account, but just sign-out, and you can sign in with the account you want), Skype will run on the back. So even if you close the app, you’ll get notifications. So you don’t have to be annoyed with the program being on your task bar, if that kind of stuff bugs you. In other words, when you close it, it is LIKE if it was “minimized to notification tray”, but it isn’t. The app is full featured from what I can see, in terms of core features. You can chat, do video calls, audio calls, send files, send images, etc. But again, still not complete. It is under the Preview tag, so that is before “beta” stage. The app is keyboard/mouse friendly as well as touch friendly, and support high-DPI displays. And yes, in the case you didn’t know already, you have quiet hours features so that it doesn’t get annoying at specific periods that you don’t want them.
Edge got better… much better, and now has extensions!
Edge got massive improvement. It is faster than before, it is more solid, it feels more of a complete web browser, and now supports extensions. It already has a nice set of extensions which you can get from the Store OR from outside, which you can side load into the web browser. Expect to see “in the works” extension not yet available in the Store, such as uBlock Origin (https://github.com/nikrolls/uBlock-Edge/releases/tag/1.7.7b14-edge), CatBlock. Ghostery is in the works, but nothing to show yet. Currently, from the store, you have: AdBlock, AdBlock Plus, Amazon Assistant, Evernote Web Clipper, Last Pass, Mouse Gesture, Office Online, OneNote Web Clipper, Page Analyzer, Pin It button, Reddit Enhancement Suite, Save to Pocket, and Translator for Microsoft Edge. Edge still needs a lot of work to match feature from other web browser, but nice to see that unlike IE, it isn’t stuck in time, and that it is moving a long.
Dark Mode
Everything is better in black, and OS has now 2 color themes to pick: Light (original), and Dark modes. Dark mode turns all supported Universal Apps in a dark color theme. That means: Edge, Groove Music, News app, Store, etc. Sadly, nothing for file explorer, if you wonder. Maybe in the future. To change modes simply go to: Settings > Personalization > Colors.
Title bar color
You can now set the color of the title bar window with your accent color, without having the taskbar and action center follow the same colors. It is apart. Sadly, you can't define a title bar color to be different than the accent color.
Cortana on lock screen
If enabled, Cortana can be on your lock screen. This allows you to tap/click on Cortana, or say “Hey Cortana” (if you have enabled that), and say a command, like play music, or stop music, or play <album name> or Shuffle, what will be weather tomorrow, amongst others.
Music Control on lock screen
If your app supports like, like Groove Music, you can have music control on the lock screen if the app is running. You can see the album picture, current songs, and be able to play/pause, go back/forward songs.
SMS/MMS from your PC with your phone
All you need is an Android device, with Cortana installed. If you have this, your Windows 10 desktop/laptop/tablet/convertible can communicate with your phone and use it to send/receive messages from your system. This is really cool, specially that you can you use your system keyboard to actually type a message, and you don’t need to check your phone. Check out the Messaging app. Now it has a purpose. This feature is not for iPhone users due to the locked down nature of the OS. Microsoft is still looking into it. Windows 10 Mobile users used to have this option, but been removed, and is in the works to integrate it with the new Skype Preview app talked about on top. It is possible that, if all works well, Microsoft will not require Android users to install Cortana anymore, but instead all they need is Skype, which they might already have, and might be more interested in that fact. So expect changes, Android users, for Redstone 2.
Phone notifications on your PC, and “find my phone”
This applies to Windows 10 Mobile and Android users with Cortana app installed. Again, due to the limitation of the iOS, iPhone users can’t enjoy this feature. Notifications like Low Battery, and missed calls, will be transferred to your desktop from your phone. In addition, you can ask Cortana to find your phone. When you do, Cortana will get your phone location, and shows you a map as a notification on your desktop with the option to ring it (the speed of the communication between your phone and your PC depends on the OS, its settings, and your internet connection from both your PC and your phone. To see it in action, once setup, simply ask Cortana to find your phone.
Ink Workspace
Got a system with a digitize pen? If you do, you’ll notice a new icon next to the time (you can show or hide it on any system, it is automatically shown if your system is detected as compatible to use pen), called Ink Workspace. This utility gives you access to sticky notes, gives you a sketchpad to draw, take a screen shot and draw, and give you app suggestions from the store that you might be interested in (app suggestions can be disabled via registry: Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace, set AllowSuggestedAppsInWindowsInkWorkspace to 0. Create anything missing.)
Ruler
New Windows API allows software to use ruler feature on pen and touch enabled devices. You can place a ruler and draw a line perfectly straight in the supported app. The Ink Workspace Sketch pad has this feature if you want to see it in action.
Sticky notes
Sticky notes are back. Remade as Universal App, these sticky notes also include Cortana integration. So if you write something like “Meet Jeff at 2pm”, the “2pm” will be highlighted and when you click on it, Cortana will pop-up, asking you if you want it to remind you of your note at 2pm.
(gif from Microsoft blog post)
Connect - New App (Miracast)
If your system is Miracast compatible, you can fire up the new Connect app, and have another Miracast compatible device, such as your phone, output screen on it. In the example bellow, I have my Windows 10 Mobile phone connected to my system via miracast. I would show Android as it would be relevant to people here, but my Moto G doesn't support Miracast. So in this case, you see Continuum from my phone. But if you want to play with it, all you need to do is fire up the Connect app, go on your phone, and connect to your PC. This feature does not work with iPhones as it doesn't support Miracast.
All Windows built-in apps have been greatly improved
All Windows Universal Apps that comes with the OS natively have been improved with a bug fixes and/or a set of new features. I wont' go over them, as this is insanely long as it is, and took me a few days to write this on my free time here and there. I'll let you discover them.
Windows Hello
Web browser and websites or even software can support Windows Hello (Edge does already, you just need a supported website) to login. That means you can use: facial recognition, fingerprint, or iris scanner to login (all information is encrypted locally to the system).
Windows Defender
Windows Defender can be added to another anti-virus without conflict. More precisely, real-time scanning isn’t enabled, but it can periodically scan your system during your OS maintenance schedule.
Linux Command Line (Bash shell)
This feature is more focused for developers. But once enabled from Program & Features panel, you can have Linux subsystem (Ubuntu to be exact) run under Windows without performance drop, allowing you to execute bash shell commands. How far can you go with it? Well you can install Linux based software, and with Xming X Server installed, you can run windowed based Linux program, like I have done:
The above I run 2 instances of Firefox Linux version, xeyes (eyes that follow your cursor) and gedit text editor.
Task View Improvement
You can now right-click on a running program and tell it to show or not on all virtual desktops. This is great for stuff like music player, or IM. You can also send to another desktop a folder or program.
Precision Touchpad Improvement
If your laptop uses a Precision Touchpad, Windows 10 Anniversary Update feature a new gesture to switch between virtual desktop. Place 4 fingers and swipe left or right (Yes, it is the same as Apple).
Tablet mode is a bit more like Windows 8
The Start Screen got updated to make it easier to use on tablets. Now when you show your all apps at the center, and better organized.
Taskbar Calendar
Yes it got improved. Now, it integrates with the Calendar associated with your account and shows your upcoming events. Click on the “+” button, fires up the Calendar app to add an event. You can click on "Hide agenda", to hide this.
Battery Saver
Under Settings > System > Battery, you have “Battery usage by app” link. When you click on it, you have the list of apps (desktop (Win32) and universal) which you can see how much each consume power on your system. In addition, selecting on a Universal App, you can allow the app to run in the background or not, or let Windows manage it (blocks from running on the background if Battery Saver is enabled). This feature is only available on system with a battery.
Windows Update respects your time
You can now define an “active hour” period, where Windows will not restart, or bug you for an update during this time. So for example, you can put your school time, or your work hour time, or whatever period you want.
Windows Update – Auto re-login to complete update
A new feature for Windows Update, you can now have (disabled by default), Windows 10 re-login to your account after you did an update to finish off an update.
New emojis
Forget disabling telemetry data option. We've got new Emoji's!!! Party!!!
If you are using the touch keyboard, you now have more emojis that you can use.
Reset Universal App
If you encounter a Universal app that doesn’t work right, you can reset it. It will clear all its cache and stored data.
Simply go to Settings > System > Apps & Features > Pick a Universal App > Advance Options > Reset
Edit Game recording
If you use the Game Bar to record clips of your game, you can now edit your clip with basic editing clipping tools via the Xbox app.
Accessibility features improvements
New UAC (User Account Control) Prompt look.
It now fits better with Windows 10 look.
260 character limit gone
You can now remove the 260 character limit for NTFS file system paths. To do this, look for Enable NTFS long paths under your GPOs (Windows 10 Pro and up). I don’t know the registry key for Windows 10 Home users.
New keyboard shortcuts
Win + Alt + D: Opens date and time fly out on the taskbar.
Win + Shift + C: Opens Cortana to listen to an inquiry.
Game DVR Improved
Windows 10 Game DVR feature got improved. If you don't know what this feature is, you can hit Win+G at any time on any game (or even software), and the "game bar" will appear. This bar allows you to take a screen shot of the game, and cooler, you can record your game. You can even set it to always record (up to 2h) your games, and than pick a segment you want and save it to disk, or publish it. You have it to record your microphone as well. What is cool about it, is that unlike FRAPS, it doesn't eat your system resources, and well its free.
What is new, is that you can now record at native resolution and 60fps.
This is how it looks (The Stanley Parable):
(Game starts with pre-rendered cut scene of not the best quality. Actual game footage starts at 1min 20sec. I don't have the fastest system.. needs and upgrade, sorry for the frame drops in recording. And keep in mind that YouTube compresses the video. I don't know how to keep things as Source)
and more...
Got 21min to spare? Windows Central made a tour video:
What you need to know?
The release of the update is free for all Windows 10 users.
It will come out August 2nd in waves, you may need to wait a few weeks before it shows up.
The update process will be like a normal Windows update (just slow), and not like the update experience from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10. The change will make less people freak out of the update process, due of being different.
Yes, it is true. Cortana cannot be fully disabled. The voice recognition stuff (when you go “Hey Cortana”), your interests, permissions to things, and getting to you know you, can all be disabled and cleared. But you cannot turn off Cortana in full. Typing things will still use Bing search engine to get you web results (actually, this was happening on the current version of Windows 10 regardless, it just didn't show you the results). However, it will still give you the whether if asked (by typing), for example.
Here is how to disable Cortana the most, and links to your account:
-> Click on the search box on the task bar > Notebook (right bellow the house icon) > About me > Click on your account > A panel will open, click on your account > Sign out
-> Start > Settings > Privacy > Speech, Inking, and Typing. Click on "Stop getting to know me"
-> To clear your stuff: Start > Settings > Privacy > Speech, Inking, and Typing > Go to Bing and manage personal info for all your device > Clear.
To clear any advertisement data on you:
-> Start > Settings > Privacy > Speech, Inking, and Typing > Go to Bing and manage personal info for all your device > click on "Microsoft Advertising", and turn off all options.
(you may need to click on "Sign in to change" and login to the Microsoft account you are using with your account)
-> Start > Settings > Privacy > General. And turn off: "Let app use my advertising ID..."
This is update code name update is called Redstone 1. Redstone 2 is expected to be released sometimes around March months 2017, and Redstone 3 is planned for end of 2017.
The currently released version of Windows 10 code name is Threshold 2. Windows 10 official release was Threshold 1.
Wi-Fi Sense’s feature is gone. So this potential security issue is now gone.
Windows 10 Mobile users will have this Anniversary Update. XBox One and HoloLens users will needs to wait a while longer.
Microsoft is already preparing Redstone 2 for Insider, although, as usual, the early builds are mostly foundations work over new features.
OS update fixing other bugs can come for this build as usual.
If you tried Windows 10 before and had issues with your system. Try the Anniversary Update. Again, while it has a nice set of new features, the OS is more polished, and features a great number of bug fixes, so your issue(s) might be solved.
Hope this informative to some of you.
If you have any questions, do ask.
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