As part of the 20H1 development, Microsoft is rolling out Windows 10 build 18963 for devices enrolled in the Fast ring of the Windows Insider Program. This is the preview number 24 available for testers, and it’s a minor update with several new features and changes.
Windows 10 build 18963, according to the company, introduces the ability to monitor temperature for graphics cards in the Task Manager. You can now officially rename virtual desktops. The Optional Features settings pages gets updated with usability changes and tweaks. It’s now possible to control the mouse cursor speed from the Settings app.
Starting with this flight, Notepad becomes a Microsoft Store app. The search experience receives several improvements, and much more.
Build 18963 for Windows 10 20H1
Here are all the features and changes coming to the next version of Windows 10:
Windows Search improvements
The spell checker technology for Windows Search has been updated to intelligently understand and correct small typos like “powerpiont” and “exce;” which previously would return no results.
In addition, the search experience is also receiving an update to show related results when searching settings that don’t match the query. For example, if you type “free” the best match will include “Turn on storage sense” with a “Related: free up” label to help understand the result.
This feature is now available on both Insider and retail builds in English (United States), and Microsoft will be expanding this feature to include Apps search in the coming weeks.
Virtual desktops
If you use virtual desktops to separate your different tasks, you can now click the header of desktop and specify a custom name for each virtual desktop.
You can also right-click the thumbnail of the desired desktop in Task View, and a context menu with a Rename option in it should appear.
This feature is only available for a select group of testers.
Task Manager
Starting with build 18963, the “Performance” tab in Task Manager add support to monitor temperature on dedicated graphics cards.
Optional Features
In addition, this Windows 10 20H1 update is adding changes to make the Optional Features settings more usable, including the ability to select and install multiple optional features at the same time.
You can now search through lists of optional features and sort them by Name, Size, and Install date. Also, it’s possible to see the install date for each optional feature in your “Installed features” list. Microsoft also added feature dependencies to the description of each optional feature in the list of features available for install.
You can now view the status of your latest installs, uninstalls, and cancels right on the main page in the “Latest actions” section, and it’s now possible to add optional features and view your history via pop-up dialogues.
These changes are only available for half of the participants of the Windows Insider Program.
Mouse
In the Mouse settings page, there’s a new option to control the mouse speed.
Notepad
Starting with Windows 10 build 18963, Notepad becomes an app updateable from the Microsoft Store, which means that the note taking app will no longer depend on major releases of Windows 10 to get updates.
Additional changes
Alongside the features and improvements, Windows 10 build 18963 also includes additional smaller changes, including quick account picture sync across Windows 10, apps, and Microsoft sites, and some internal improvements for the traditional Chinese IME.
Microsoft is listing the complete set of improvements, fixes, and known issues for Windows 10 Insider Preview build 18963 at the Windows Blog.
Download Windows 10 build 18963
Although there are no ISO files for Windows 10 build 18963, the update is available immediately through the Fast ring. This preview build will download and install automatically on your device, but you can always force the update from Settings > Update & security > Windows Update, and clicking the Check for updates button.
You can also check out these resources:
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].