Microsoft today announced that the Fall Creators Update, the next major release of Windows 10, will start rolling out to all users on October 17. That’s a little bit later than some pundits expected but still well within Microsoft’s promised release window.
When Microsoft announced this update at its Build developer conference earlier this year, some of the more hyped features included an updated Microsoft Graph, with numerous features that would make moving between different machines easier, and Windows Story Remix, an application with lots of advanced 2D and 3D features for building video and photo stories. Sadly, neither the Timeline and “Pick Up Where I Left Off” features of the Microsoft Graph, nor some of the most advanced features of Story Remix will make it into this release. Chances are we will see them in a future update, though.
The other feature of this update that Microsoft has long highlighted is support for what it calls “Mixed Reality” headsets — and what the rest of the world calls augmented and virtual reality goggles. The Fall Creators update has built-in hardware support for these devices that make this possible — with many of the headsets launching around October 17, too. Some devices, though, including the ASUS headset, won’t launch until early 2017.
Other stand-out features of this release include an updated OneDrive online file storage service, which now allows you to easily access your cloud files even if they aren’t on your local storage, as well as a number of Windows Inking updates for those of us who like to use a stylus in combination with a Surface tablet, for example, and an improved Game Mode for giving your PC games full access to your computer’s power. Security, of course, is also improved and Microsoft also notes that this update includes new accessibility features, something the company has recently put a lot of focus on.