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Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: The Operating System
Microsoft has released their fourth feature update for Windows 10 and this article focuses in on the enhancements that have been made to the operating system itself and the specifications needed to run it and mixed reality hardware.
5 Min Read
On October 17, 2017 Microsoft released their fourth major feature update for Windows 10 which is know as the Fall Creators Update.
This is one part of our overall coverage for the release and you can visit Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Review Central for links to all of the other elements of our post release content.
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In this part of our Windows 10 Fall Creators Update coverage we will cover system specifications for the update and the included mixed reality components. In addition, we will highlight different areas of the user interface that have been updated in this release and share what features have been deprecated in the feature update.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update System Specifications
CPU: 1 GHz or faster processor
RAM: 1 GB for 32-bit; 2 GB for 64-bit
HDD: 16 GB for 32-bit; 20 GB for 64-bit
Graphics: DirectX 9 or later with a Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) Version 1.0 or higher
Display: 800 x 600
Mixed Reality System Specifications
The minimum operating system for mixed reality is of course the Fall Creators Update but Microsoft has two different sets of specs for a standard system for mixed reality and an ultra level for high performance mixed reality experience.
Windows Mixed Reality Standard
CPU: Intel Core i5 7200U (7th generation mobile), dual core with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology enabled or better
RAM: 8GB DDR3 dual channel
Disk Space: 10 GB
Graphics Card: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620 or greater DX12-capable integrated GPU
Graphics Driver: Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.2
Graphics Display Port: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2
Monitor: External or integrated VGA (800x600) monitor
USB: USB 3.0 Type-A or Type-C
Bluetooth (Controllers): Bluetooth 4.0
Windows Mixed Reality Ultra
CPU: Intel Core i5 4590 (4th generation desktop), quad core or better or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.4Ghz (desktop), quad core or better
RAM: 8GB DDR3 or better
Disk Space: 10 GB
Graphics Card: NVidia GTX 960/965M/1050 or greater DX12-capable discrete GPU or AMD RX 460/560 or greater DX12-capable discrete GPU
Graphics Driver: Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.2
Graphics Display Port: HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2
Monitor: External or integrated VGA (800x600) monitor
USB: USB 3.0 Type-A or Type-C
Bluetooth (Controllers): Bluetooth 4.0
You can test your system specs with the Windows Mixed Reality PC Check App from the Microsoft Store.
User Interface Updates/Changes/Enhancements
Every feature update to Windows 10 has a collection of changes that are made to the OS's user interface to make items more accessible, better communicate their purpose, or to add functionality.
Here is a summary for some of those key items in the Windows 10 user interface that are part of the Fall Creators Update:
Revert Virtual Machine using automatic checkpoints
Power Throttling of background services in Task Manager for better battery consumption
Your People on Taskbar to highlight your key contacts for alerts, messaging, etc.
Better support for Gmail Accounts in Mail & Calendar App to provide Focused Inbox option
Microsoft Edge PDF Reader Enhancements including copy and ask Cortana; Inked Notes; Read Aloud
Microsoft Edge improvements for to make X to close the browser available; improved Favorites management; Read Aloud
Cortana Settings moved into Windows Settings App
Emjoi Panel/Keyboard
Swipe Touch Keyboard
Magnifier Settings Overhauled
Volume Mixer can control volume of UWP apps individually
Share Dialog updated to prioritize people-first sharing
Storage Sense now includes Download Folder option
Recover PIN and Password from Lock Screen
Link your Android or iOS phone to your device to share website links
Cortana Voice Commands for Lock, Sign-Out, Shutdown, and Turn off PC
Cortana web searches now available within Cortana interface instead of needing to open a browser window
Accessibility: Eye Control Beta
View Mixed Reality with View 3D app
Resume from Phones to PC with Cortana
You are also going to be seeing a lot of Fluent Design elements across the OS and apps as that influence continues to take hold in the design ecosystem.
Removed and Deprecated Features
In each new update to Windows 10 Microsoft will mark certain features for removal and others as deprecated. Items marked as removed are gone from this update and those tagged as deprecated remain as part of the update but are no longer under active development and might be removed in a future update.
Here are those removed/deprecated features for the Fall Creators Update.
Removed
3D Builder App - Note: Use Print 3D and Paint 3D in its place but it can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.
Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) - Note: Now blocked but Windows Defender Exploit Protection can be used instead.
Outlook Express - Note: Removing legacy code from OS.
Reader App - Note: Functionality added to Microsoft Edge.
Reading List - Note: Functionality added to Microsoft Edge.
Deprecated
Microsoft Paint - Note: Functionality integrated into Paint 3D but will still be available as a download in the Microsoft Store.
Screensavers - Note: To be disabled in Themes
Sync Your Settings - Note: Back-end changes: In future releases, the back-end storage for the current sync process will change.
System Image Backup (SIB) - Note: It is recommended that users find a full disk backup option from third party vendors.
Windows PowerShell 2.0 - Note: Applications and components should be migrated to PowerShell 5.0 or higher.
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Be sure to check out all of our Windows 10 Fall Creators Update coverage.
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