Microsoft Windows 10 Insider Build 15007 Delivers Improved Cortana, Sweet New Themes And Better Mobile Viewing
Microsoft continues to dish out new Windows 10 preview builds to Windows Insiders at a furious pace. The latest version (build 15007) is another one that has been released to Windows Insiders who are subscribed to the Fast ring and applies to both PC and mobile. It brings with it a surprising amount of new features, considering how fleshed out the previous release was, including several improvements to Cortana.
Microsoft's digital assistant can now help users pick up where they left off when using multiple PCs. While that can sometimes be a cumbersome process, the newest build has Cortana displaying quick links in the Action Center when a user switches computers. Those links guide users back to Microsoft Edge websites and SharePoint (or other cloud-based) documents that were most recently used, making it easier to hop from one machine to the next.
On the mobile side, Cortana learned how to control music playback on more music apps. Specifically, Microsoft enabled natural language compatibility in Cortana for iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio. When listening to music through either app, a user can control playback and volume using voice commands. Users can also get a title to a song that is being played by saying, "Hey Cortana, what's playing?"
Windows Insiders may recall that Microsoft introduced a new themes setting page in the Settings app in build 15002. Starting soon, users will be able to navigate from the themes setting page directly to the Windows Store to download new themes for PC. Unfortunately it doesn't work yet in this latest build—the Store icon that gets added at the bottom does not do anything. However, it will be enabled in future builds. In the meantime, users can go here to download themes from the Store.
As Microsoft is prone to do with many of its preview builds, it stuffed a few new features into its Edge browser. For this build, Microsoft added the ability to share a set of tabs that have been set aside. There is also a new "Import from another browser" button in Settings to import data from other browsers into Edge, and users can choose to "Run" a download link without first saving it.
For mobile users, Microsoft listened to user feedback and added the ability to zoom into a webpage using Edge regardless of the zoom settings defined by the website. Mobile users can zoom up to 500 percent, and because of this Microsoft says it is no longer automatically scaling text in Edge when the Ease of Access option is enabled.
Some other goodies for mobile users include scrollbar improvements for UWP (both PC and mobile), the ability to sync settings using Azure Active Directory (AAD), a reset feature for apps, and improved legibility for UWP apps in high contrast.
Microsoft's digital assistant can now help users pick up where they left off when using multiple PCs. While that can sometimes be a cumbersome process, the newest build has Cortana displaying quick links in the Action Center when a user switches computers. Those links guide users back to Microsoft Edge websites and SharePoint (or other cloud-based) documents that were most recently used, making it easier to hop from one machine to the next.
On the mobile side, Cortana learned how to control music playback on more music apps. Specifically, Microsoft enabled natural language compatibility in Cortana for iHeartRadio and TuneIn Radio. When listening to music through either app, a user can control playback and volume using voice commands. Users can also get a title to a song that is being played by saying, "Hey Cortana, what's playing?"
Windows Insiders may recall that Microsoft introduced a new themes setting page in the Settings app in build 15002. Starting soon, users will be able to navigate from the themes setting page directly to the Windows Store to download new themes for PC. Unfortunately it doesn't work yet in this latest build—the Store icon that gets added at the bottom does not do anything. However, it will be enabled in future builds. In the meantime, users can go here to download themes from the Store.
As Microsoft is prone to do with many of its preview builds, it stuffed a few new features into its Edge browser. For this build, Microsoft added the ability to share a set of tabs that have been set aside. There is also a new "Import from another browser" button in Settings to import data from other browsers into Edge, and users can choose to "Run" a download link without first saving it.
For mobile users, Microsoft listened to user feedback and added the ability to zoom into a webpage using Edge regardless of the zoom settings defined by the website. Mobile users can zoom up to 500 percent, and because of this Microsoft says it is no longer automatically scaling text in Edge when the Ease of Access option is enabled.
Some other goodies for mobile users include scrollbar improvements for UWP (both PC and mobile), the ability to sync settings using Azure Active Directory (AAD), a reset feature for apps, and improved legibility for UWP apps in high contrast.
