The one-year anniversary for Windows 10 is fast approaching and in just over two weeks — on August, 2 — Microsoft will release the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. At the end of June, Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 had been installed on over 350 million devices, but the company has since admitted that it’s initial goal of a billion devices in three years was slightly too ambitious.

At Microsoft’s Build 2016 developer conference at the end of March, the company revealed some of the changes that Windows 10 users could expect from the Anniversary Update. These new features include significant updates to Microsoft’s Windows Ink pen recognition software, advancements for its virtual assistant Cortana, the addition of Windows Hello in apps and Microsoft Edge, and new features for Xbox One.

We look at the other features — for consumers, enterprises and developers — that form part of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

Windows 10 updates for users

Start menu tweaks

The Start menu in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update will make the ‘All Apps’ list on the left-hand side visible by default. In the list, there will be a section to display your ‘Most used’ and ‘Recently added’ apps.

Note: In tablet mode, the ‘All Apps’ list in the Start menu will display as a full-screen menu.  

In the far left of the Start menu, Power, Settings, and File Explorer links will be displayed, but as icons only.   

Any new installs of Windows 10 following the Anniversary Update, will receive double the number of adverts in the Start menu.

Updates for Taskbar and lock screen

With the Anniversary Update, when you click on the Clock you will be able to see your upcoming events while clicking the Volume icon will show multiple audio outputs.

Tip: In tablet mode, you will be able to hide the Taskbar.  

In the Anniversary Update, you will be able to display the same image on the lock screen as you have on the sign-in screen.

Microsoft Edge gets extensions and ability to pin tabs

In addition to Windows Hello coming to Microsoft Edge, the web browser will also gain support for extensions. Extensions for Microsoft Edge include AdBlock, Evernote, LastPass and Microsoft Translator, among others.  

From August 2, Microsoft Edge will also allow you to pin tabs of your favorite sites, allowing for quick access at any time.

Customize notifications in the Action Center

In the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, you will be able to customize which PC and mobile app notifications appear in the Action Center, as well as the number of notifications, and which notifications are given priority.  

Note: The Action Center button moves next to the time at the far right of the Taskbar.

Android device owners will also be able to see notifications of voicemails, missed calls and apps on a linked Windows 10 desktop.

The size of the notification tiles in the Action Center will increase and include animations. While the quick action buttons will also be customizable from the Settings apps.

The Taskbar will also show the number of unread notifications for supported apps.

Active Hours feature gives you control over automatic reboots

With the Active Hours feature you can set the hours during which you are normally busy on your machine. This will stop Windows 10 automatically rebooting to install an update. Go to the Settings app > Update & security.

Tip: You can set your Active Hours to a maximum of 12 hours.

Get help with the Quick Assist app

If you have any Windows 10 issues you can request help using the Quick Assist app, which will provide another user will remote access to your system and screen.

Settings app gets redesign and new features

In addition to a cleaner design, the Settings app will also be easier to navigate and will get a new search box in the center of the page. Some of the features from the Control Center move to the Settings app, which includes additional troubleshooting options for connectivity problems under the Network & Internet category.

Activation troubleshooter

Found under the Settings app > Update & security, the Activation troubleshooter will allow you solve any issues that arise when trying to activate a genuine copy of Windows 10. After upgrading your machine, you will be able to link a Microsoft account to the digital license stored on the device.

Windows 10 updates for enterprise customers

Additional security features

With the Anniversary Update, Windows 10 Enterprise E5 edition subscribers will get access to Windows 10 Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP). By analyzing large amounts of security data, WDATP will attempt to spot emerging threats and offer responses to the security breach.   

Another feature is Windows Information Protection, which uses containerisation file techniques to offer accidental data leak protection by having controls over who can access what, and by keeping enterprise and personal data separate.

Windows 10 updates for developers

Hyper-V container support

Developers will be happy to learn that — like its bigger brother, Windows Server 2016 — Windows 10 will support native Hyper-V containers as of the Anniversary Update.

Hyper-V containers in Windows 10 will support Nano Server, a lightweight version of Windows Server, and will run on their own instance of the Windows kernel bundled with only essential components, such as Hyper-V, Clustering, Networking, Storage, .Net, and Core CLR.

Native support for Linux Bash Shell

If you’ve ever tried to run a Linux distro on a virtual machine on your Windows laptop, you’ll be very happy to know that those days are coming to an end.

Going forward, Windows 10 will let you run (some) Ubuntu Linux software natively via a universal Windows app with access to the command-line interpreter Bash found in Ubuntu 14.04.

Support is limited to command-line apps and Microsoft claims Ubuntu software will run just as fast in the Windows app as it would on a native Ubuntu install. This should bring significant performance improvements over running Linux on a virtual machine or via third-party apps.

Sources: GottaBeMobile; PCWorld; Microsoft

Image via: Microsoft