Microsoft’s Windows 10 April 2018 Update Improves Dictation, Adds Timeline, Other Features

Microsoft is currently rolling out a new update for its Windows 10 operating system. Simply called the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, the new software update comes with several new features that dramatically improve the user experience and the platform as a whole.

Last Friday, Microsoft announced that it was releasing a new Windows 10 update at the start of this week. The company is now keeping its word by rolling out the April 2018 Update to all Windows 10-running computers on the final day of April.

According to The Verge, the new update comes with a number of new features including Dictation, Timeline, quick Bluetooth pairing and many more. It also tweaks the Fluent Design system that was introduced alongside the Fall Creators Update, so users will notice new effects on certain prompts and gestures.

The new update gives users a quicker way to access the Dictation feature of Windows 10. Users can now launch Dictation instantly and use it in any app by pressing the Windows key + H keyboard shortcut. This will be useful for those who want to utilize the Dictation tool to jot down notes quickly and accurately.

The April 2018 Update also comes with a new major feature called Timeline, which replaces the Task View button. This feature basically shows users which apps are actively running, as well as the apps and activities users used or did on the PC in the past 30 days. It’s also worth noting that the apps and activities sync across multiple devices, so users can view them on any desktop PC.

A minor but useful addition to Windows 10 is the quick Bluetooth pairing feature. This feature produces a notification that quickly suggests enabling a connection with a detected Bluetooth peripheral or device. Unfortunately, the feature is limited to supporting the Surface Precision Mouse for now. More peripherals and devices could be getting support in the future.

The update introduces the ability to mute tabs. This means users can mute specific tabs that loaded sites with auto-playing videos and whatnot. It’s very common nowadays for websites to feature media content that’s set to automatically play once the website has been loaded.

With the new update, Windows 10 now has support for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) or web applications that are regular web pages but are also optimized for mobile access. The addition of support for PWAs could open the doors for more PWAs to launch for the Windows 10 operating system.

“With Windows 10, we’ve focused on delivering the most modern and most secure operating system. Since its initial launch, we delivered two updates with features designed to enable the creator in each of us,” Microsoft said in the introduction for the April 2018 Update. ”With our latest major release – the Windows 10 April 2018 Update – we want to give you back some of your greatest currency, your time. Our hope is that you’ll have more time to do what matters most to you – create, play, work or simply do what you love.”

To learn more about the different features of the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, check out Windows and Devices Group corporate vice president Yusuf Mehdi’s blog post.