Windows 10 version 1903, May 2019 Update, official with the 10 best new features, including Light mode, Windows Sandbox, Reserved Storage, Recommended Troubleshooting, automatic Active hours, disable Windows updates for Windows 10 Home users, quick access to symbols, Windows Search, mouse pointer color and sizes, quick brightness control.
Top 10 features on Windows 10 version 1903
- Start Menu Colour
- Search and Cortana
- Sandbox
- Troubleshoot
- Emoji
- Search improvements
- Cursor & pointer
- Night Light
- Easy access to linux files
- Notifications hidden in full-screen apps
Start Menu Colour
Starting with version 1903, Windows 10 is introducing a true system-wide light theme that brings light colors to the Start menu, Action Center, taskbar, touch keyboard, and other elements.
The new color scheme is available selecting the Light option under “Choose your color” drop-down menu from the “Colors” settings page.
Search and Cortana
Windows 10 has a search bar that’s integrated with Cortana, but they’re separating. In the April 2019 Update, the search bar functions as a normal search box, and there’s a separate Cortana icon on the Windows taskbar. You can leave the search box on the taskbar and hide the Cortana icon or hide the search box and leave Cortana. Of course, you can also hide both.
The Search interface has a new start design, and it features options like “All,” “Apps,” “Documents,” “Email,” and “Web” after you click it. This is different from previous versions of Windows 10, which showed Cortana whenever you clicked the box and waited for you to type a search to present these options.
Unfortunately, the standard Windows search bar still integrates online search results with Bing, so it doesn’t just search your PC. There are more options, too—you can even disable SafeSearch for results in the search bar, and Windows will show you previews of adult content, for some reason.
Sandbox
Windows Sandbox is another one of the best features bundled with version 1903 designed to safely test untrusted apps in an isolated environment without harming your device.
The feature uses hardware virtualization and the Microsoft Hypervisor technology to create a lightweight environment to install and run untrusted programs. Once you finish using the app, closing the session will delete everything automatically.
Sandbox is only available for Windows 10 Pro users, and it requires to enable the feature manually using the Turn Windows Features On or Off experience.
Troubleshoot
Among the best features for the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, you’ll also find Recommended troubleshooting, which is a new feature that allows Windows 10 to fix many critical problems on your device automatically.
For instance, the operating system may automatically restore default settings for critical services, adjust settings to match your hardware configuration, or make specific changes to operate normally. Critical troubleshooting happens automatically and can’t be turned off.
Although you can’t disable this feature, you can use the “Diagnostic & feedback” page to change its behavior.
Emoji
Microsoft is making it easier for you to send moji from a Windows 10 PC to friends or co-workers.
Microsoft has added emoji face characters in the May 2019 Update that are accessible through the same existing emoji shortcut (win+period). You’ll be able to pick from a number of emoji, and there’s also now quick access to em dash and other symbols from the emoji picker.
Search improvements
Search isn’t new to Windows 10, but in previous versions this feature was part of the Cortana experience, and now, beginning with version 1903, Cortana and Search are splitting into two separate features.
As a result, when you start a search, you’ll see a new Search experience with an updated landing page with better spacing to show recent activities and most recent apps, adding light theme support with some subtle acrylic effect over all the search filter options.
In addition, in the Settings app, you’ll now find a new page to configure all the aspects of search, including a new Enhanced option that allows you to search your entire device — not just your documents, pictures, videos, and desktop.
Cursor & pointer
Windows now lets you choose a cursor color and size. You can make the cursor larger and change its color, making it easier to see. Head to Settings > Ease of Access > Cursor & Pointer to see available options.
Night Light
If you are one of those who are already experiencing the same issue, you can try a temporary fix to resolve the issue. Navigate to Settings >> System >>Display and now use the Night light toggle switch to enable this feature.
Moreover, a Reddit user confirmed that the issue was resolved after a system reboot.
Easy access to linux files
Microsoft’s Windows subsystem for Linux seems some changes, but the most exciting one is the ability to access Linux files from within File Explorer or any other application. You can just type “explorer.exe .” into the Bash shell and File Explorer will open with the current Linux directory.
Unlike older ways of accessing your Linux files, this offers full read-write access without the worry of breaking anything. Just head to the following address in Explorer: \wsl$<running_distro_name> . In other words, for Ubuntu, head to \wsl$Ubuntu.
Notifications hidden in full-screen apps
Windows 10’s next update can also hide notifications while you watch videos or use any other full-screen app thanks to an improvement in Focus Assist. Focus Assist can already hide notifications while you’re playing any full-screen game, but now it can work when you’re using any app, whether that’s a video player, full-screen spreadsheet, or web browser after you pressed F11.