All new features in Windows 10 May 2020 update (Version 2004)

In this article, we are talking about all new features that users will receive with Windows 10 May 2020 update aka version 2004 aka 20H1 update. Windows 10 May 2020 update aka Windows 10 Version 2004 is the next Windows 10 version and it will be released sometime in early May 2020 to public.

The version 2004 update is a major feature update and brings many new features, changes, and improvements.

Windows 10 May 2020 update (2004) features & changes:

GPU temperature monitoring comes to Task Manager:

If you have a dedicated GPU card, you will be able to see the current temperature next to its listing in the Performance Tab.

Disk type now visible in Task Manager Performance tab:

You’ll now be able to see the disk type (e.g. SSD) for each disk listed in Task Manager’s performance tab. This is particularly helpful in cases where you have multiple disks listed.

File Explorer also gets its share of new features and improvements with Windows 10 Version 2004.

A new File Explorer search experience:

File explorer search is now powered by Windows Search. This change will help integrate your OneDrive content online with the traditional indexed results. As you type in File Explorer’s search box, you’ll now see a dropdown populated with suggested files.

These improved results can be launched directly by clicking the entry in the new suggestions box, or if you want to open the file location, just right-click the entry and there’ll be an option to do so. If you need to use commands or dig deeper into non-indexed locations, you can still press enter and populate the view with the traditional search results.

New tablet mode for 2-in-1 convertible PCs:

Microsoft will roll out a new tablet experience for 2-in-1 convertible PCs. This new experience allows users entering tablet posture to stay in the familiar desktop experience without interruption, plus a few key touch improvements:

• Increased spacing between Taskbar icons.
• Search box on taskbar collapsed into an icon.
• File Explorer switches to touch optimized layout.
• Touch keyboard auto invokes when you tap text fields.

Here are the steps to enable the mode once 20H1 is installed.

1. Use your convertible PC as a laptop as you normally would–opening apps and interacting with them.
2. When you’re ready to pick it up and go or simply lean back on the couch, you can fold back the keyboard or remove it altogether, and it should switch to this new mode shown above.
3. Now use your device as a tablet with touch.

Recovery Improvements

Introducing a new Reset this PC option–Cloud Download

In Windows 10 version 2004, “reset this PC” now provides users a new choice to download Windows or use local reinstall. Previously, Reset this PC was only able to do a local reinstall and would build a new Windows installation from existing Windows files.

The cloud download option will reinstall the same build, version, and edition, that is currently installed on your device. This new cloud download option is available to all Windows 10 devices and is different from the “Recover from the cloud” feature available on some earlier Windows 10 devices.

Refining your notification settings

Microsoft has made notification settings more easily discoverable. In version 2004,

1. When you receive a notification toast, there will now be an inline option to turn off notifications for that app, or head to the app’s notification settings.
2. When you dive into an app’s notification settings, you’ll find added pictures to help articulate the impact of a certain settings.
3. Muting notifications is as a top-level option in Notification & Actions Settings now.
4. A new direct link at the top of the Action Center to manage notifications, so it takes one less step to get to Notification & Actions settings.
5. You can now sort the list by which apps most recently sent notifications.
   

Search indexer tweaks to handle excessive disk usage:

Microsoft has rolled out a new algorithm that detects high disk usage and slows down search indexing activity. it better identifies peak usage times and manages the indexer accordingly. Based on these new signals, the indexer will stop or throttle down when:

• Gaming mode is ON
• Power savings mode is ON
• Low power mode is ON (constrained mode or connected standby)
• The device is waking up after being in low power mode or in a logon state
• Device goes from AC->DC
• CPU usage goes above 80%
• Disk usage goes above 70%
• The device’s battery charge is < 50%
• The device’s display state goes to screen off

New throttling options for Windows update downloads:

Version 2004 brings a new option to throttle the bandwidth used by Delivery Optimization as an absolute value. You can set this separately for Foreground downloads (downloads that you initiate from Windows Store for example) or background downloads.  You can access this option via Settings > Update & Security > Delivery Optimization > Advanced Options 

New Cortana features & experiences:

Cortana will get more productive and also adds some new features in Version 2004. Here are all Cortana changes in the words of Microsoft.

• To give you an improved companion experience that’s more seamless with your workflows, we’ve undocked the app from the taskbar, so now you can move or re-size Cortana like any other app.
• We’ve made it easy for you to configure your default input to Cortana via Settings > Talk to Cortana, so now you can choose if you prefer typing or speaking.
• The improved email skill lets you use Cortana to create and query emails:
  • “Send an email to <name> letting them know I’m running late”
  • “Show me emails from <name>”
• The improved calendar skill lets you create and query meetings:
  • “Set up a 1:1 with <name> at <time>”
  • “What’s my next meeting?”
  • “Join my meeting” (Note: This only works for Teams meetings at this time.)
• The improved Windows skill lets you use Cortana to open apps and adjust settings:
  • “Open Paint 3D”
  • “Change the brightness”
• We’ve made significant accessibility improvements, so Cortana is easier for everyone to use.
• We’ve removed Cortana support for ‘connect accounts,’ so now your work and personal accounts are two separate experiences based on whichever account you sign in with. If you sign in with a Microsoft Account, you’ll interact with your personal information. If you sign in with a work or school account, Cortana will work with that one. Your chat history will be retained on your local device, and if you use a personal Microsoft account your data will still be visible in the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard.
• Also, while we’re honing our productivity skills, we’re temporarily removing a few Cortana skills that were previously released to Windows Insiders. But don’t worry, we’re giving them a fresh coat of paint, and they’ll be coming back soon! These include:
  • Bing Instant Answers
  • Jokes and other assistant conversations.
  • Timers

New Bluetooth pairing experience:

Microsoft intends to revamp the Bluetooth pairing experience on Windows 10 making it easier and faster in version 2004. Here are the changes.

• Pairing is all done in notifications now. You don’t need to go to the Settings app anymore to finish pairing.
• For faster pairing time, we improved the UI by showing one less notification.
• We added a Dismiss button to the first notification to give you more control while using Swift Pair.
• To make the notification more helpful, now we show the device name and category when we can.

Improving the Optional Features page in Settings:

Windows 10 Version 2004 brings a number of usability improvements to the Optional Features page in Settings (Settings > Apps & Features > Optional Features).

• Multi-select: You can now select and install multiple optional features at the same time. Better list management: You can now search through lists of optional features and sort them by Name, Size, and Install date.
• More useful information: You can now see the install date for each optional feature in your ‘Installed features’ list. We’ve also added feature dependencies to the description of each optional feature in the list of features available for install.
• Easier page navigation: View the status of your latest installs/uninstalls/cancels right on the main page in the ‘Latest actions’ section. You can now add optional features and view your history via pop-up dialogues, so you never have to navigate away from the main page

Redesigned Network Status page:

The Network & Internet landing page in Settings has been revamped in Version 2004 to get more information at a glance about your device’s connectivity, combining several pages to give you one clear view of how you are connected to the internet.

• New view of active connections: We now show all available connection interfaces on the Status page, so you can quickly see what is connected and view and change properties as needed. If you have multiple connections, only one will be used for internet connectivity at a time, and that one is still shown in the Status diagram at the top of the page.

• Integrated Data Usage: As you may have noticed in the picture above, you can now see how much data is being used by a network right from the Status page! If it looks like you’re using a lot of data, you can drill into the Data Usage page to create a limit for that network, which will warn you if you get close or go over your limit. You can also see how much data each app is using on that network.

Quick Event Create from the Taskbar:

You can now quickly create an event straight from the Calendar flyout on the Taskbar. Just select the date and time at the lower right corner of the Taskbar to open the Calendar flyout and pick your desired date and start typing in the text box. You’ll then see inline options to set a time and location.

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Go passwordless with Microsoft accounts:

For improved security and a more seamless sign-in experience, you can now enable passwordless sign-in for Microsoft accounts on your Windows 10 device by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, and selecting ‘On’ under ‘Make your device passwordless’. This will strengthen your device sign-in by switching all Microsoft accounts on your device to modern multifactor authentication with Windows Hello Face, Fingerprint, or PIN, and eliminating passwords from Windows.

Automatic restart for Desktop & UWP apps to reduce sign-in time:

Microsoft has introduced a new separate setting to control if registered desktop apps and open UWP apps from your previous sign-in session are restarted when signing back in to Windows. To reduce sign-in time, UWP apps are restarted minimized, in a suspended state, giving Windows and other apps more resources to get started.

1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and turn on “Automatically save my restartable apps when I sign out and restart them after I sign in.” under “Restart apps”.
2. Start one or more UWP apps, such as Feedback Hub.
3. Sign out and then sign back into Windows.

Adding Mouse Cursor speed to Settings:

In version 2004 you can now set your mouse cursor speed from within Settings. You can find the setting under Settings > Devices > Mouse.