Windows Insiders should be very pleased that Microsoft has rolled out another update in the Fast Ring today — and this one actually has some meat on its bones. Sure there are the usual bug fixes and minor tweaks, but Windows 10 Build 16215 has a couple new features to make your Windows experience a little more fluent.
See, that’s the name of the new design language Microsoft is using, and it’s clever. Like Google’s “Material Design” Microsoft now has “Fluent Design” — it’s more than just a breezy buzzword though. In Build 16215 we get a sneak peek at the new design language, and how it indeed makes Windows 10 a bit more fluid — it should be dreamy on that sleek new Surface Laptop.
The new UI introduces a flat-color design to the familiar old notification center, that builds on the existing Windows 10 UI. It’s not a radical departure, but an elegant refinement that spices Windows up a bit (if it was boring before, that was by design) by adding panes to the notification panel and smoothing out the taskbar a bit.
Build 16215 incorporates elements of Microsoft’s new “Acrylic” UI design, which you should see right off the bat if you have transparency enabled.
Moving on to other tangible updates in the latest Insider Build, Microsoft Edge continues to improve. Now users can pin individual websites to their taskbars, which can be helpful for accessing web apps or other essential and frequently used services — like the r/sneks subreddit.
Now you can pin all your favorite subreddits right to your taskbar. It’s a shortcut to your shortcuts, but of course to use it you’ll have to actually use Microsoft Edge, a proposition which may or may not be worth the trouble.
Edge received a number of smaller updates. For instance, now users have the ability to highlight and annotate books right in the browser window, and smoothed out animations for opening new tabs. (We’re still not sure it’s the best web browser available, however.)
Cortana also received some attention in Windows 10 Build 16215, and she has a few new capabilities to fill out her repertoire. Now she’s able to provide insights to photos in your camera roll, by processing the images for relevant information — like a photo of an event poster, for instance.
It takes a little digging to actually enable this feature, though. Specifically, you’ll have to go to Settings > Cortana > Permissions & History > “Manage the information Cortana can access on this device,” to let Cortana peer through your camera roll.
Building on that feature set, you can also use a lasso tool to select portions of images on your device that you want Cortana to process for information — like a movie’s opening night. Again to enable this feature, you’ll have to dig through a lot of menus. First you’ll need to go to Settings > Device > Pen & Windows Ink > Press and hold > Cortana Lasso.
And finally, Microsoft lavished some attention on the handwriting recognition native to Windows 10. It’s an important set of improvements given the emphasis on the Surface Pen lately.
Introduced in today’s Build is the new XAML-based handwriting panel, which turns your handwriting into text directly on the screen. Just scribble down words into the panel using a Surface Pen, and once you lift the pen off the screen it will translate your handwriting into usable text.
You can also make corrections to your handwritten inputs using Windows Ink gestures, like slashing through a word to delete it, or slicing two words apart with a single stroke. Additionally, Microsoft has expanded the palm rejection capabilities of Windows Ink, so your hands shouldn’t provide as much interference as they used to if you happen to graze the screen by accident.
There’s a lot to unpack in today’s build, including a ton of behind-the-scenes improvements. So, for a full list of every tiny feature and tweak in Windows 10 Build 16215 — and a host of bug fixes — head over to the Windows Insider blog.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.