Today Microsoft released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18963 (20H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring.

The update contains a massive number of new features, including:

What’s new in Build 18963

GPU temperature comes to Task Manager

One of the longstanding requests Microsoft has been tracking for Task Manager is to add temperature monitoring support, and with today’s build Microsoft is making progress on that ask. If you have a dedicated GPU card, Microsoft will now bubble up the current temperature next to its listing in the Performance Tab.

Notes:

• Showing the GPU temperature in Task Manager is currently only supported if you have a dedicated GPU card.
• You may need an updated graphics driver to see the temperature. Specifically one which supports version 2.4 (or higher) of WDDM is required. To check which version your PC has, press WIN+R and enter dxdiag. Under the Display tab, it will say your WDDM version next to Driver Model.
• Currently the temperature value is only supported in Celsius.

Renaming your virtual desktops

Virtual Desktops exist to help you visually and cognitively separate different tasks on your PC. They can also be handy when doing presentations – enabling you to prepare demos on different desktops. Something Microsoft has heard loud and clear is that you want to be able to set names for your different desktops, in order to help cement the separation between workspaces, and Microsoft is excited to share that rolling out to Insiders in the Fast ring is exactly that!

Want to try it out? With the change, when you open Task View (by selecting the Task View button in the taskbar, or by pressing WIN+Tab,) clicking the name of your desktop will now switch it to be an editable field where you can set the name to be anything you’d like (including emoji). You can also right-click the thumbnail of the desired desktop in Task View, and a context menu with a Rename entry in it should appear. If you don’t have any additional desktops created yet, select “New desktop” in Task View to get started.

And yes, since Microsoft know you’ll ask – the names persist reboot. 

Currently this change is live for 50% of Insiders in the Fast ring, and Microsoft will be expanding the rollout over the next few weeks as Microsoft evaluate the quality of experience.

Improving the Optional Features page in Settings

Based on your feedback, Microsoft has made a number of usability improvements to the Optional Features page in Settings (Settings > Apps & Features > Optional Features), and they’re now starting to roll out to Insiders in the Fast ring.

• Multi-select: You can now select and install multiple optional features at the same time.
• Better list management: You can now search through lists of optional features and sort them by Name, Size, and Install date.
• More useful information: You can now see the install date for each optional feature in your ‘Installed features’ list. Microsoft has also added feature dependencies to the description of each optional feature in the list of features available for install.
• Easier page navigation: View the statMicrosoft of your latest installs/uninstalls/cancels right on the main page in the ‘Latest actions’ section. You can now add optional features and view your history via pop-up dialogues, so you never have to navigate away from the main page

Currently these changes are live for 50% of Insiders in the Fast ring, and Microsoft will be expanding the rollout over the next few weeks as Microsoft evaluate the quality of experience. Here’s a peek at what you’ll see once it’s available on your PC:

Adding Mouse Cursor speed to Settings

As some Insiders have noticed, you can now set your mouse cursor speed from within Settings! This is the latest piece of Microsoft’s larger ongoing effort to converge Settings and Control Panel experiences. You can find the setting under Settings > Devices > Mouse.

Making Notepad store-updatable

Notepad has been a well-loved text editor in Windows for over 30 years. Over the last few releases, Microsoft has been making a number of small improvements to Notepad based on your feedback (including expanded line ending support, wrap around search, and indicating when there’s unsaved content.) Starting with this build, Microsoft is making a change so that future Notepad updates will be automatically available via the store. This will allow Microsoft the flexibility to respond to issues and feedback outside the bounds of Windows releases. As always, if you have any feedback for Notepad, Microsoft welcome it in the Feedback Hub under Apps > Notepad.

Traditional Chinese IME improvements

Following feedback on the Traditional Chinese Bopomofo, ChangJie, and Quick IME, Microsoft’s developer team has been working on improving the quality and fixing bugs. With today’s build:

• Toolbar Improvements: Microsoft fixed an issue where toolbar shows up even when [Use IME toolbar] is turned off in the setting. Microsoft also added [Hide toolbar] button in the toolbar menu.

Note: Other ways to show/hide toolbar:

• From settings: Right click [?/?] icon > Click [Settings] > [General] > [Use IME toolbar]
• From right click menu: Right click [?/?] icon > [Show/hide IME toolbar]
• Candidate Window Improvements: Microsoft have been working on improving candidate window quality.
  • Microsoft fixed an issue where candidate window sometimes only showed limited number of candidates.
  • Microsoft fixed an issue where candidates shown in table view cannot be selected by number keys.

Please keep trying out this new IME, and let Microsoft know your feedback.

Changes to your account picture in Windows

Changing the picture for the account you use to sign in to Windows is now better than ever! Your updated picture will now show up quickly across Windows, apps, and many of the Microsoft sites you use every day. Previously, you might see as many as three or four different pictures for your account in different apps and sites at one time. Its super easy to try out – just go to Your info in Windows settings and change your picture there!

Steps

1. Open “Your info” in Windows settings by pressing the Windows key, and typing “Your info,” and selecting “Your account info.”
2. Use the options in ‘Create your picture’ to select a new picture for your account.
3. Check if your picture has been updated in Windows, and on the sites and apps you use.

Note: Microsoft is still working with many sites and apps that will need to be updated to work well with this new feature. For example, the account manager control that appears in the upper right of many Microsoft websites currently updates every 24 hours. This will be changed in the next few months to update quickly when your account picture changes.

Other updates for Insiders

Windows Search improvements 

Microsoft wanted to take a moment to cover some of the server-side search improvements Microsoft has been rolling out based on your feedback:

Improved spell correction for Apps & Settings searches

Windows Search has built-in spell correction to help you find what you’re looking for. When you’re typing quickly sometimes mistakes happen – Microsoft is excited to announce that Microsoft has updated Microsoft’s spell correction technology to intelligently understand and correct small typos like “powerpiont” and “exce;,” which previously would return no results. With these updates, you get better results faster. This feature is now available on both Insider and retail builds in English-language markets.  

Hints to improve Best match results

Microsoft’s goal with Windows Search is to provide a simple, to-use experience, and a key aspect of this is making results easy to understand. Something Microsoft has heard from you is surprise that sometimes settings search results don’t match your search. To help address this, in certain cases where the Best match result isn’t an exact match for your search, a “Related:” line will be included below the result to help clarify why this result is appearing.  Microsoft will be expanding this feature to include Apps search in the coming weeks.  This feature is now available on both Insider and retail builds in English (United States).

Bringing the latest Search Home experience to more users

With the Windows 10 May 2019 Update Microsoft updated Search Home to help you save time by adding quick access to your Top apps and Recent activities. After receiving positive feedback and comments about this new experience, Microsoft is now making it available to more users by rolling it out to everyone using the Windows 10 October 2018 Update as well. Microsoft hope you find them useful and that they help make Search Home more productive for you.

Here’s a glance at what it looks like for those on the Windows 10 October 2018 Update:

Microsoft hope you like the changes, and if you have any further feedback about search, let Microsoft know!

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

• Microsoft fixed an issue where when connected via cellular or ethernet, the Network statMicrosoft would show you weren’t connected, even though you were able to successfully use the network.
• Microsoft fixed an issue resulting in the candidate selection in the prediction candidate window for the Japanese IME occasionally not matching the composition string.
• Microsoft fixed an issue where the candidate selection via number keys for the new Simplified Chinese IME did not match with the composition string.
• Microsoft fixed an issue impacting typing speed over remote desktop.
• Microsoft fixed an issue where, when using the emoji panel in certain places with an East Asian language active, it would close automatically after entering a single emoji even if the option to keep it open was enabled.
• Microsoft fixed an issue where typing a very long string with the Vietnamese Telex keyboard without committing could result in the underlying app crashing.
• Microsoft fixed a recent issue where the touch keyboard input a period when pressing the space key when typing in Korean.
• Microsoft fixed an issue where, if the Allow Input Personalization group policy was set to disabled, then search would crash.
• Microsoft fixed an issue resulting in search not returning results after disconnecting from the internet when using a local account.
• Microsoft fixed an issue that could cause the search box to become invisible in the taskbar if you opened Start menu while there was an update pending on your system.
• Microsoft fixed an issue for those using the new Cortana experience, where WIN+C wasn’t bringing up Cortana.
• Microsoft fixed an issue resulting in iCloud calendars not syncing with the Calendar app.
• In order to help reduce disk footprint, Microsoft is shifting the Connect app to now be available as an optional feature downloadable in Settings.
• Microsoft fixed an issue resulting in not being able to setup Windows Hello in Settings in recent builds.
• Microsoft fixed a recent issue where if Sound Settings was open, and you used the hardware volume keys on your PC to update the volume, the master volume slider in Settings might not stay in sync with the current value.
• Microsoft fixed an issue resulting in the Graphics Settings drop-down list for Microsoft Store apps being empty.
• Microsoft fixed an issue impacting Snip & Sketch capture reliability in recent builds.

Known issues

• Insiders may notice a new “Cloud download” option in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) under “Reset this PC”. This feature is not working quite yet. Microsoft will let you know once it is, so you can try it out!
• There has been an issue with older versions of anti-cheat software used with games where after updating to the latest 19H1 Insider Preview builds may cause PCs to experience crashes. Microsoft are working with partners on getting their software updated with a fix, and most games have released patches to prevent PCs from experiencing this issue. To minimize the chance of running into this issue, please make sure you are running the latest version of your games before attempting to update the operating system. Microsoft are also working with anti-cheat and game developers to resolve similar issues that may arise with the 20H1 Insider Preview builds and will work to minimize the likelihood of these issues in the future.
• Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. Microsoft are investigating the issue.
• Microsoft is investigating reports that the minimize, maximize, and close title bar buttons aren’t working for certain apps. If you’re using an impacted app, Alt+F4 should work as expected to close the app if needed.

Windows 10 Insiders can download the update by Checking for Updates in Settings.