Microsoft releases new Windows 10 19H1 and 19H2 builds for Release Preview Insiders

News
By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

This new set of builds brings the full slate of 19H2 features to testers.

Surface Book 2 and Lenovo X1 Yoga
Surface Book 2 and Lenovo X1 Yoga (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • New Windows 10 19H1 and 19H2 builds are now available for Insiders on the Release Preview ring.
  • These updates push the build numbers up to 18362.385 or 18363.385, depending on whether you're testing 19H1 or 19H2 releases.
  • The updates are available now for Release Preview testers via Windows Update.

Microsoft today released a new set of Windows 10 preview builds to the Release Preview ring. For Release Preview Insiders still testing 19H1 releases, you'll see an update to build 18362.385. Testers on the forthcoming 19H2 update, meanwhile, will see build 18363.385.

"As a reminder, 19H1 and 19H2 share the same servicing content. That means they share the same Cumulative Update package," Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the updates.

For those testing 19H2 builds, this update comes with the features that Slow ring Insiders have been testing for some time. Here's a rundown:

  • Windows containers require matched host and container version. This restricts customers and limits Windows containers from supporting mixed-version container pod scenarios This update includes 5 fixes to address this and allow the host to run down-level containers on up-level for process (Argon) isolation.
  • A fix to allow OEMs to reduce the inking latency based on the hardware capabilities of their devices rather than being stuck with latency selected on typical hardware configuration by the OS.
  • Key-rolling or Key-rotation feature enables secure rolling of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices upon on demand request from Microsoft Intune/MDM tools or upon every time recovery password is used to unlock the BitLocker protected drive. This feature will help prevent accidental recovery password disclosure as part of manual BitLocker drive unlock by users.
  • A change to enable third-party digital assistants to voice activate above the Lock screen.
  • You can now quickly create an event straight from the Calendar flyout on the Taskbar. Just click on the date and time at the lower right corner of the Taskbar to open the Calendar flyout and pick your desired date and start typing in the text box – you'll now see inline options to set a time and location.
  • The navigation pane on the Start menu now expands when you hover over it with your mouse to better inform where clicking goes.
  • We have added friendly images to show what is meant by "banner" and "Action Center" when adjusting the notifications on apps in order to make these settings more approachable and understandable.
  • Notifications settings under Settings > System > Notifications will now default to sorting notification senders by most recently shown notification, rather than sender name. This makes it easier to find and configure frequent and recent senders. We have also added a setting to turn off playing sound when notifications appear.
  • We now show the options to configure and turn off notifications from an app/website right on the notification, both as a banner and in Action Center.
  • We have added a "Manage notifications" button to the top of Action Center that launches the main "Notifications & actions" Settings page.
  • We have added additional debugging capabilities for newer Intel processors. This is only relevant for hardware manufacturers.
  • We have made general battery life and power efficiency improvements for PCs with certain processors.
  • A CPU may have multiple "favored" cores (logical processors of the highest available scheduling class). To provide better performance and reliability, we have implemented a rotation policy that distributes work more fairly among these favored cores.
  • We have enabled Windows Defender Credential Guard for ARM64 devices for additional protection against credential theft for enterprises deploying ARM64 devices in their organizations. We have enabled the ability for enterprises to supplement the Windows 10 in S Mode policy to allow traditional Win32 (desktop) apps from Microsoft Intune.
  • We're updating the search box in File Explorer to now be powered by Windows Search. This change will help integrate your OneDrive content online with the traditional indexed results.
  • We have added the ability for Narrator and other assistive technologies to read and learn where the FN key is located on keyboards and what state it is in (locked versus unlocked).

Earlier in September, Microsoft made the 19H2 update available for everyone on the Release Preview ring who manually seeks it via Windows Update. At the moment, the update is also being pushed automatically to 10 percent of Release Preview Insiders.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl.