Microsoft unveils the new Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Microsoft has announced that its next big update to Windows 10 will be the Fall Creators Update and it’s coming later this year.

You might be thinking, ‘wait a minute, didn’t the Creators Update just roll out?’ And you’d be right, but Microsoft says their not done making its operating system even better for creative types.

At the center of this upcoming Windows 10 build is a new creative app. Its most interesting aspect is that it allows users to create mixed reality content. Microsoft demoed the app by adding 3D objects to photos and video to help tell stories users can explore.

Otherwise, the new app is essentially about helping users create shareable memories out of their photos and videos by automatically stitching them together. From there, users can add little creative touches, like a soundtrack, theme, cinematic transitions (read: star wipes), or even draw and write on them with Windows Ink.

While this app is currently untitled, it seems like it will be an interesting new wrinkle to the Windows 10 experience and feels like a perfect fit for Windows 10 Mobile and its lineup of smartphones – which we have no doubt it will land on eventually.

Fluent Design System

At the heart of the Fall Creators Update is a new user interface called the Microsoft Fluent Design System, which both changes the look and how you interact with apps. Originally code named Project Neon, Fluent Design will drive more expressive and engaging apps for a wide range of devices.

Secondly, the new design language hopes to tackle input diversity head on. With a modern Windows 10 device, users can interact with touch, ink, voice, gaze and gesture. Simply put, Fluent Design hopes to create a more harmonious and responsive cross-device experience.

Pick up and go

Speaking of cross-device experiences, the Fall Creators Update comes with new features specifically designed for those who flip from one device to the next.

Microsoft introduced Timeline to help users jump back into what they were working on. It works by showing users a visual timeline of their desktop so they can get right back into the files, apps and sites they were accessing at the time. At a basic level, it’s a lot like MacOS’ Time Machine, but for revisiting your desktop state from an earlier time and place.

Beyond your PC, Cortana enables the same Pick Up Where You Left Off across a wider variety of Windows, iOS and Android devices. Microsoft gave the example of being able to work on a doc on the PC and Cortana asking a user whether they would like to finish it up on a phone.

Last but not least, Clipboard brings universal copy and paste to Windows devices and beyond. Aside from just clipping text and web links, Clipboard also allows users to transfer photos and animated GIFs from a Windows PC to their preferred mobile device.