Windows 10 Build 15031 - A greatly improved update - UPDATED
On Feb 8, MS released Windows 10 build 15031 to Fast Ring Insiders - this was a PC only build. [Update] MS released the mobile build of 15031 on Feb 9.
Several new features are in 15031. First is what some are calling "Picture in Picture" or Compact Overlay. The capability allows UWP developers to allow a small "window" of an app - like a movie or video chat to stay "on top" while you open another app to check email or do some other work.
Also in this build is a Dynamic Lock capability which will lock your PC automatically if for example your phone moves out of Bluetooth range. So if you grab your phone and walk away - your PC would auto-magically lock. Kinda cool.
There is also a large number of games that now support full screen mode in Game Bar - around 50 or so. 15031 also includes about two dozen fixes.
[Update] None of the features described above are in the Mobile build and the fix list is much smaller. You can certainly tell that Windows 10 Mobile is winding down and with recent announcements regarding Windows 10 on ARM - It is entirely possible that Windows 10 Mobile development stops with the Creators Update. MS will obviously still support it - so there will be updates/patches to the production release, but I can't see MS continuing to invest in the platform.
But for me the biggest single improvement was the update process itself. I noticed a tweet from Dona Sakar (the MS face of Windows Insider) announcing that 15031 would be available - so went ahead first on my PC and launched Windows Update. While I did receive the Initializing Updates icon - it moved on quickly to the download phase - which was also quick. The Prep, Configure and Working phases were about the same - but the good news is A) there were no errors of any kind and B) the entire process end-to-end was about an hour.
That is a huge improvement over what I had experienced starting with build 15014 thru 15019 and 15025 - where updates were taking hours and hours or having errors that require PC reset to get them to install.
My tablet also experienced a similar process - albeit slower due to the lower power device. It took about 2 hours end-to-end. But still a much better experience than with the previous builds.
[Update] Even my mobile upgrade went very smoothly and quickly updating in just over and hour end-to-end.
Another nice little surprise on the App side was an update to Mail & Calendar that added id icons to messages and was very consistent in UX across PC, Tablet and Mobile.
[Update] Overall 15031 has run very well across all platforms. Even on my older platforms, performance is smooth and crisp.
So to my knowledge there are no Compact Overlay UWP apps yet - but MS announced that the Movies and TV and Skype preview apps will support this very soon.
We are in the middle of a bug bash with one Beam conference held yesterday and another scheduled for Saturday. So I expect to see another update quickly.
Bottom line is that build 15031 is out and MS really improved the update process along with adding some additional capabilities. We know the next few builds will be the result of the bug bash - and with the Creators Update being formally announced as feature complete - so I don't expect to see any new features and my confidence level on the update side has greatly improved.
So the only question now is when will the Redstone II branch or Creators Update be released. The guesses I see around are end-March - so there are probably 3 - 5 builds left in this cycle.
Several new features are in 15031. First is what some are calling "Picture in Picture" or Compact Overlay. The capability allows UWP developers to allow a small "window" of an app - like a movie or video chat to stay "on top" while you open another app to check email or do some other work.
Also in this build is a Dynamic Lock capability which will lock your PC automatically if for example your phone moves out of Bluetooth range. So if you grab your phone and walk away - your PC would auto-magically lock. Kinda cool.
There is also a large number of games that now support full screen mode in Game Bar - around 50 or so. 15031 also includes about two dozen fixes.
[Update] None of the features described above are in the Mobile build and the fix list is much smaller. You can certainly tell that Windows 10 Mobile is winding down and with recent announcements regarding Windows 10 on ARM - It is entirely possible that Windows 10 Mobile development stops with the Creators Update. MS will obviously still support it - so there will be updates/patches to the production release, but I can't see MS continuing to invest in the platform.
But for me the biggest single improvement was the update process itself. I noticed a tweet from Dona Sakar (the MS face of Windows Insider) announcing that 15031 would be available - so went ahead first on my PC and launched Windows Update. While I did receive the Initializing Updates icon - it moved on quickly to the download phase - which was also quick. The Prep, Configure and Working phases were about the same - but the good news is A) there were no errors of any kind and B) the entire process end-to-end was about an hour.
That is a huge improvement over what I had experienced starting with build 15014 thru 15019 and 15025 - where updates were taking hours and hours or having errors that require PC reset to get them to install.
My tablet also experienced a similar process - albeit slower due to the lower power device. It took about 2 hours end-to-end. But still a much better experience than with the previous builds.
[Update] Even my mobile upgrade went very smoothly and quickly updating in just over and hour end-to-end.
Another nice little surprise on the App side was an update to Mail & Calendar that added id icons to messages and was very consistent in UX across PC, Tablet and Mobile.
[Update] Overall 15031 has run very well across all platforms. Even on my older platforms, performance is smooth and crisp.
We are in the middle of a bug bash with one Beam conference held yesterday and another scheduled for Saturday. So I expect to see another update quickly.
Bottom line is that build 15031 is out and MS really improved the update process along with adding some additional capabilities. We know the next few builds will be the result of the bug bash - and with the Creators Update being formally announced as feature complete - so I don't expect to see any new features and my confidence level on the update side has greatly improved.
So the only question now is when will the Redstone II branch or Creators Update be released. The guesses I see around are end-March - so there are probably 3 - 5 builds left in this cycle.
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