Microsoft releases first Windows 10 preview that succeeds the Fall Creators Update

Microsoft today released a new Windows 10 preview for PCs with improvements and bug fixes. This is the first build of the Windows 10 version coming after the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Windows 10 is a service, meaning it was built in a very different way from its predecessors so it can be regularly updated with not just fixes, but new features, too. Microsoft has released many such updates, including three major ones: November Update, Anniversary Update, and Creators Update.

Microsoft is simultaneously finalizing the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update and working on what comes next. This build is for Windows Insiders who have chosen to “Skip Ahead,” meaning they continue to receive builds from the RS_PRERELEASE branch. That branch has transitioned to RS4, which is the release that will come after the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (RS3), and the build numbers have jumped ahead to 1635x.

If you didn’t opt into Skip Ahead, you will keep getting Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (RS3) builds, and you won’t be served today’s build. Once the Fall Creators Update is out, you will get Windows 10 (RS4) builds. If you did opt into Skip Ahead, you’re now receiving early builds for the next feature update of Windows 10 (RS4), including today’s build.

This desktop build includes the following general bug fixes and improvements:

• When the Action Center is black (the default option), the “clear all,” “expand”/”collapse,” and “see more” link text will now all use your accent color — making them pop more and improving discoverability.
• The Action Center now supports a two finger touch gesture to dismiss all notifications. Place two fingers vertically within the Action Center near the edge opposite to the side of your screen. Then slide these fingers toward the side of the screen. You will notice all notification groups following your fingers and then dismissing as you slide your fingers off the side of the screen.
• Fixed an issue in XAML resulting in text animations appearing slightly blurry in the last flight until the animation had stopped (for example, when loading the main page of Settings).
• Fixed an issue resulting in the taskbar being unexpectedly thick if you booted up the PC while plugged into an external monitor with a different DPI.
• Fixed an issue that caused minimized per-monitor DPI aware windows to miss DPI changes and end up with a mix of DPI scaling upon restoring.
• Fixed an issue from recent flights where when Slideshow was enabled resuming from sleep a second time might place the Lock screen in a state where it couldn’t be dismissed without pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del.
• Fixed an issue resulting in an unexpected change in mouse sensitivity in the last flight for PCs using non-default display scaling.
• Fixed an issue resulting in Asphalt 8 not accepting input in recent flights.
• Fixed an issue resulting in progress wheels on certain websites in Microsoft Edge unexpectedly moving out of place during their rotation.
• Fixed an issue where the Windows Hello strings would appear on top of the page when performing a pin reset from the login screen.

Today’s update bumps the Windows 10 build number for PCs from 16278 (made available to testers on August 29) to build 16353. Again, the big build number jump is due to this build being part of a new branch for whatever comes after the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.