The 11 Most Intriguing Fall Creators Update Features In Windows 10 Build 16215

WHOA. IF YOU thought Microsoft’s Windows 10 Fall Creators Update seemed somewhat lackluster so far, Microsoft just revealed a service pack’s worth of additions as part of Windows 10 Build 16215: dictation, predictive typing, a Find My Pen mode, full-screen Microsoft Edge, and tons more.

- Mark Hachman

Essentially, Microsoft appears to be bringing some of what’s best about Windows 10 Mobile (which received a few bug fixes) to the Windows 10 desktop, improving the way in which Windows uses pens and camera input, and adding literally dozens of small refinements across the board, including elements of Microsoft’s new Acrylic UI.

Why this matters: Build 16215 points toward a Fall Creators Update that will bring a lot of welcome improvements and flesh out features that have remained minimal so far. Microsoft’s blog post lists dozens of changes, so we’ve picked 11 especially cool features you definitely need to know about:

A new Start and Action Center

Part of what the new Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will bring is what’s known as Fluent Design: a reworking of the user interface to emphasize transparency. Also known as Acrylic, this new UI has now been applied to the Start Menu and Action Center notifications. You can now more easily resize the Start menu with smoother horizontal, vertical, and even diagonal “grips.”

Microsoft also overhauled the Action Center, providing a “much clearer information separation and hierarchy.”

MicrosoftEdge updates: Full-screen mode and pinned sites

Every so often my colleague Gordon Mah Ung will erupt about the inexplicable lack of full-screen mode in Microsoft Edge. (Yes, really.) Microsoft has solved that via the F11 key, which will now trigger the same full-screen mode as in other browsers. Another useful feature: You can pin sites to your Windows taskbar, in much the same way you can pin apps, too. You can also dump your current tabs into the Favorites folder.

Microsoft fleshed out its ebook annotation features with new colors and (hurray!) notes. The notes don’t appear to be searchable, though.