Microsoft Details Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

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SEATTLE -- Don't call it Redstone 3 anymore. At its Build developer conference, Microsoft unveiled the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, the next major upgrade to its operating system since the company promised to start updating twice annually back in April.

Microsoft isn't telling exactly when they'll roll out the Fall Creators Update, but as it says in the name, they're aiming for autumn. The company says that despite the name, it's not picking up the slack from the earlier Creators Update, but is rather continuing on its themes of inspiring creativity. 

Joe Belfiore, who left the Windows Phone team for a year but has since returned to the company for other consumer-focused initiatives, announced a slew of features for the fall update. They paint a picture of a new Windows that works alongside other operating systems, like Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Among them are:

  • Timeline, which lets you go back to a project you were working on on any device.
  • Pick Up Where You Left Off, which takes what you were doing on a Windows machine and move it to another device.
  • Clipboard, a universal clipboard across devices.
  • OneDrive Files On-Demand – which lets you access files from the cloud as if they were stored locally, so you don't have to use up your device storage. A similar feature was part of Windows 8, but didn't make the transition to Windows 10.

There's also a new app, Windows Story Remix, that uses the Microsoft Graph to stitch together your and your friends photos and videos and give them a soundtrack, theme and transitions. 

OneDrive File On-Demand was a feature that users were very vocal in requesting. Online files from OneDrive will appear in the File Explorer just like any local file and can be downloaded by choosing it. If you want offline access, you'll be able to mark which OneDrive files should be on your systems at all times. 

MORE: Microsoft Fluent Design System Will Change the Look of Windows 10

New features to use your OneDrive folders offline on Android and iOS devices were also announced. Changes made on these platforms to OneDrive files will now update in the cloud when you get a connection. This feature is available on Android devices now if you have an Office 365 Personal or Home subscription or a OneDrive business account. Microsoft says it will roll out the iOS version in "the next few months."

Microsoft also detailed its new design language, the Microsoft Fluent Design System (formerly known as Project Neon). Microsoft says some elements actually showed up in the Creators Edition, but now it has a name. The new system won't roll out all at once, but users can start expecting to see more soon in Windows Insider Builds. The Fluent Design System is meant to help developers tackle the challenge of designing an app for desktop, mobile, VR and other platforms.

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Andrew E. Freedman