What’s in the Windows 10 May 2019 update? More control over updates
A new major Windows 10 update is on the way and, following the debacle of the October release, Microsoft will be hoping for a smooth roll out this time around.
We haven’t heard much about what’ll be on offer in the update yet, but today Microsoft is spilling the beans on one of the major features arriving next month.
The company says it is making significant changes to the Windows update process, which it says will improve the quality of updates and give users more control. Now Microsoft plans to notify users that updates are available and recommended, but is leaving it up to PC owners to actually act upon them.
“We are adding new features that will empower users with control and transparency around when updates are installed,” the company wrote in a blog post on Thursday. “In fact, all customers will now have the ability to explicitly choose if they want to update their device when they “check for updates” or to pause updates for up to 35 days.”
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It means users will have more control over when the updates take place, so they won’t be forced into a hefty update when busy. That 35 days equates to pausing the update once a week over the course of five weeks. But yeah, after that you’ll get the update whether you like it or not. The company did say that when updates are critical, or for features reaching the end of service, they’ll still take place automatically.
In light of the October debacle, which involved Microsoft pulling the update after release following a myriad of issues, the company says the May update will spend more time in the review phase.
Microsoft writes: “We are taking further steps to be confident in the quality of the May 2019 Update. We will increase the amount of time that the May 2019 Update spends in the Release Preview phase, and we will work closely with ecosystem partners during this phase to proactively obtain more early feedback about this release. This will give us additional signals to detect issues before broader deployment. We are also continuing to make significant new investments in machine learning (ML) technology to both detect high-impact issues efficiently at scale and further evolve how we intelligently select devices that will have a smooth update experience.”
The May update will hit the Release Preview Ring for Windows Insiders next week.
Will you be downloading Windows 10 May 2019 update immediately? Or has the October experience put you off? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.