Windows 10 October 2018 Update: Small Improvements Make A Better Experience

Your phone, edge, and the surprisingly super-powered clipboard highlight a minor update.

- Mark Hachman

Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2018 Update, officially released October 2 (go.pcworld.com/rlo2), doesn’t offer the standout, marquee features you might have come to expect from earlier releases. But as our review demonstrates, a few new features highlight a longer list of under-the-hood, day-to-day improvements.

Our review is based on the final Windows 10 Insider Builds, which led up to the official October 2018 Update. Microsoft doesn’t appear to have added anything with the announcement, but we’ll check and update this story to reflect any last-minute changes. (For now, though, the launch is officially on hold—an undetermined number of users have suffered data loss from upgrading right away [go.pcworld.com/dtls], so Microsoft has put the update on hold until it solves the problem. We didn’t experience any issues with Insider Builds, but as always, back up your data.)

We’ve assigned a review score, but, as always, pay less attention to the number than to how the October 2018 Update will affect you. We’ve separated what we’d call “the little things”—everyday features and conveniences (go. pcworld.com/dyim)—into their own article, covering automated OneDrive backups, for example, and independent text resizing. Here, we’ll talk about the major new features: apps like Your Phone and Microsoft Font Maker, and how the nifty little Cloud Clipboard works in the real world. One’s particularly worth noting: Microsoft Edge.

MICROSOFT EDGE IS NOW AN EVERYDAY BROWSER

Many initially characterized Edge in the same way they saw Internet Explorer: as a vehicle to download Chrome or Firefox, then ignore forever. And who can blame them? It’s been three years since Edge was first introduced, and it’s just now gained enough features and performance to be a viable competitor.