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Microsoft Releases First PC Slow Ring Build of 2017 to Windows Insiders
After an 85 day gap between slow ring builds, Windows Insiders taking the slower approach to new builds are going to see a lot of new stuff in this latest build that is now available for them to try out.
4 Min Read
In a briefing given by Gabe Aul last year at Microsoft Ignite in Atlanta, he shared that there are far fewer Windows Insiders in the Fast Ring compared to those who opted into the Slow Ring for new testing/development builds.
I must admit - that stat surprised me because I would have expected the exact opposite - just because Fast Ring means quicker access to new features and fixes.
Well with today's Slow Ring build shuffle, a lot of Windows Insiders are about to get their hands on a new build of the Windows 10 Creators Update. The last time they received a build, it was 14986, was last year on 14 December 2016 - 85 days ago.
The delta between 14986 and 15048 is quite large as well because Fast Ring Insiders have received nine new builds in that same time frame. Although the last couple of builds have not added a lot of features, those earlier ones certainly did introduce some stuff those folks in the Slow Ring will be seeing for the first time.
So while you Slow Ring Windows Insiders wait for this new to you build to download, just go hit Check for Updates in the Windows Settings app to get it, you can see this list of some of the new things you will see once you are up and running on 15048.
Build 15002 (Released on 09 January 2017)
This was a massive update and had improvements in the following areas of the OS:
Microsoft Edge
Start and Shell
Windows Ink
Cortana
Accessibility
Windows Defender
Windows Settings
Touchpad
Blue Screen of Death becomes Green Screen of Death for Insider Builds
Virtual Machines
Windows Update
You can see the very detailed list of all of the individual new items in this build in our PC Build Trackers Build 15002 page.
Build 15007 (Released on 12 January 2017)
Microsoft Edge
Sharing your tabs that have been set aside
Import Data from other installed browsers
Run downloaded program directly instead of saving
Web Notes picks up Windows Ink experience
Windows 10 Themes
Will soon include a link in Windows Settings to download themes directly from the Windows Store
Cortana
Help you pick up where you left off on other devices
Action Center/Notification Center
Notifications will incorporate a progress bar in the alert
UI/Navigation
Scrollbars improvements for UWP apps for smoother scrolling and taking up less space in UI
ALT + N keyboard shortcut for screenshots
Rainbow Flaq emoji added
Windows Hello
Visual guidance to show facial tracking in real time
Improved progress indicator
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15007 PC Tracker Page
Build 15014 (Released on 19 January 2017)
Microsoft formally announced alongside this builds release that the My People feature was being removed from the Creators Update. It was pushed to the next major feature update that is expected this fall.
New features in this build included:
Purchase and read e-books through Microsoft Edge. The Windows Store now has a section dedicated to e-books and Microsoft Edge has an e-book tab under the Hub.
Pick you own custom accent color in Personalization settings.
Automatically free up space by removing temporary and un-used files option in Windows Settings.
Merged Wi-Fi settings
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15014 PC Tracker Page
Build 15019 (Released on 27 January 2017)
Built in Beam streaming
New Games category in Windows Settings
Game Mode
Microsoft Edge gets full color emoji
Updated Out of Box Experience (Privacy, Windows Hello enrollment, Voice Control, Subtitles)
Blue Light renamed to Night Light
Resize Virtual Machines in Hyper-V
App and Game download progress bars in Action Center
Troubleshooters section added to Windows Settings
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15019 PC Tracker Page
Build 15025 (Released on 01 February 2017)
Braille support in Narrator
Mono option added to Ease of Access
Collections in Feedback Hub to consolidate feedback for same issue/area
Night Light improvements
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15025 PC Tracker Page
Build 15031 (Released on 08 February 2017)
Compact Overlay (Picture in Picture for an app)
Dynamic Lock using Bluetooth paired phone
New Share icon
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15031 PC Tracker Page
Build 15042 (Released on 24 February 2017)
New Cortana animation in Out of Box Experience
Prompt to enable Flash in Microsoft Edge now has a dialog near URL bar to notify user that Flash bas been blocked and needs to be clicked to run.
Improved reading experience for eBooks in Microsoft Edge
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15042 PC Tracker Page
Build 15046 (Released on 28 February 2017)
Windows Defender System Tray icon has protection status overlay and App and Browser section is now functional
Pick up where you left off alerts in Action Center tweaked to now show apps and files plus the previously included websites from Microsoft Edge.
Improved translations
Updated Games icon to align with other icons in Windows Settings
Application Installation Control that lets you restrict the installation of apps to those in the Windows Store.
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15046 PC Tracker Page
Build 15048 (Released on 03 March 2017)
No new features.
Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15048 PC Tracker Page
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You will notice that the number of new features and tweaks to those features slowed down over the last few builds. That is exactly as expected since we are getting very close to the general release of the Creators Update for all Windows 10 users.
Now all of the teams focus is on fixing bugs, known issues, and making sure performance is solid.
So for you Slow Ring Windows Insiders - enjoy your big update. You have a lot to explore and give feedback on!
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But, wait...there's probably more so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Google+.
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