The Windows 10 1909 Feature Update is around the corner and is expected to be released sometime next week. Unlike previous Feature Updates, Windows 10 1909, codenamed 19H2, is more like a larger-than-normal cumulative update or service pack.

Microsoft has already started pushing Windows 10 1909 to Windows Insiders on the Release Preview ring and Microsoft has added it as an option on WSUS. It is clear that with this information, and other hints provided on Twitter, that Windows 1909 has a good chance of being released over the coming week.

While the Windows 10 1909 Feature Update focuses on performance enhancements and bug fixes, there are some noticeable new features that we have outlined below.

Changes in Windows 10 1909

Alexa, Cortana and others on Lockscreen

Microsoft has been closely working with Amazon to improve Alexa experience on Windows 10 and Amazon has made it quite easy to use Alexa with your PC.

The Alexa app for Windows 10 allows you to use the digital assistant completely hands-free and voice capabilities work even when the app is running in the background or foreground.

With Windows 10 version 1909, Microsoft will allow third-party digital assistants like Alexa to voice activate above the lock screen. In other words, Alexa will soon work above the lock screen – all you need to do is ask her.

Create Calendar events from the Taskbar

Windows 10 is also getting a new feature that will allow you to create calendar events directly from the taskbar. To create a new event from the taskbar, you have to:

Click on Time & Date taskbar icon.
This opens Calendar view and you can click a date to create an event.
You have to give your event a name, and you can also specify time and location.

Start menu automatic expansion

As we noted, Windows 10 version 1909 is technically a servicing update and some of the features are extremely humdrum. For example, Microsoft has updated the navigation pane on the Start menu to allow it to expand automatically when you drag your cursor over it or closer to the options like Settings cog icon.

This will expand the left sidebar so you can see the title of each option as shown below.

Action Center & Notifications page

The Notifications settings page has been updated with images showing representations of how notifications will be shown in ‘banner’ mode and in the ‘Action Center’.

Notifications page is getting another change that should help you find out most active notification senders. You will notice that Notifications are now sorted by most recently shown notification instead of the sender name in alphabetical order. This will allow you to find the most frequent notification sender, so you can turn off sounds or notifications for that particular app entirely.

Finally a “Manage notifications” button has also been added to the top of Action Center, so you can quickly access Action Center and Notification settings. Previously, users were required to open the Settings app and navigate to the “Notifications & actions” page.

File Explorer uses Windows Search

File Explorer has been updated with Windows Search integration and traditional indexed results will now also include your OneDrive content.

Battery efficiency improvements

In theory, the battery of select PCs will struggle less after applying Windows 10 version 1909 update. Microsoft has also implemented power efficiency improvements for PCs with certain processors.

Performance improvements

If the processor powering your PC supports “favored” cores, users will notice performance improvements as Microsoft has implemented a new rotation policy that will send more CPU intensive or critical tasks to those cores that operate faster.

“A CPU may have multiple “favored” cores (logical processors of the highest available scheduling class). To provide better performance and reliability, we have implemented a rotation policy that distributes work more fairly among these favored cores.”

You can learn more about this feature: Windows 10 to Boost Performance via Favored CPU Core Optimization

Latency improvements for inking capabilities (OEM only)

For OEMs, a new change has been implemented that would significantly reduce inking latency across native apps. The latency will be determined on hardware capabilities of devices by default, which means the latency won’t be based on typical hardware configuration offered by the OS.

Key-rolling or Key-rotation security improvements

Windows 10 19H2 update also includes two new features called ‘Key-rolling’ and ‘Key-rotation’ to enable secure delivery of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices and the process is based on the request from Microsoft Intune, MDM and similar tools.

‘Key-rolling’ and ‘Key-rotation’ could boost the security of Windows PCs by preventing accidental recovery of password.

Debugging capabilities for newer Intel processors (OEMs only)

For OEMs and manufacturers, Windows 10 update includes additional debugging capabilities for newer Intel processors

— Update: 28-02-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article Windows 10 version 1909, November 2019 Upate: All new features and changes from the website pureinfotech.com for the keyword windows 10 v1909 new features.

Windows 10 version 1909, “November 2019 Update,” will be the eight major refresh since the original release, which Microsoft is expected to release on November 12, 2019, as part of its Patch Tuesday schedule.

The November 2019 Update will be the second semi-annual update arriving in 2019, and while it’ll include new features and improvements, unlike previous releases, this is expected to be a minor update available as a quality update, similar to a service pack.

According to the company, the new approach will help to complete the update on time, and it’ll be a less disruptive deployment as the Windows 10 version 1909 won’t require a full installation of the OS. However, because it’ll be an incremental update, devices will require the Windows 10 May 2019 Update before you can install the 19H2 update manually.

In this guide, we’ll highlight the new features and improvements shipping with Windows 10 version 1909.

Windows 10 version 1909 ISO file direct download
How to upgrade to Windows 10 version 1909, November 2019 Update
How to clean install Windows 10 version 1909, November 2019 Update
How to uninstall Windows 10 version 1909, November 2019 Update
Windows 10 version 1909 download using ‘Update Assistant’

What’s new with desktop experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update
What’s new with Settings experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update
What’s new with system experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update

What’s new with desktop experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update

These are the new desktop experience features arriving with Windows 10 version 1909.

Taskbar

As part of the new features, in this new version, Windows 10 introduces the ability to create calendar events from the taskbar without the need to open the Calendar app. The Start menu left pane will expand automatically to reveal the name of each option.

Action center and Notifications

In Action Center, update 19H2 now shows the options to configure and turn off notifications from an app and website right on the notification, both as a banner and in Action Center.

You’ll now find a new “Manage notifications” button to the top of Action Center, which launches the main “Notifications & actions” settings page.

Start menu

In the Start menu, you won’t see a lot of changes, but hovering over the left rail will now expand the menu automatically for all users.

File Explorer

Starting with Windows 10 version 1909, the search box in File Explorer is now controlled by Windows Search. This also means that the search box in File Explorer integrates with OneDrive content online, just like when using search from the taskbar.

The File Explorer app has been updated with a drop-down list with your search history when you click the search box (or when using the CTRL + E shortcut to set focus to it), and the search experience has been updated to be dark when using the dark system mode.

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What’s new with Settings experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update

The Settings app is also getting a few new tweaks with the November 2019 Update.

Notifications

In the Notifications & actions page there’s a new setting to disable sound for all notifications, and the page will now default to sorting notification senders by most recently shown notification, rather than sender name.

In addition, the page to configure notifications for apps now includes visual changes to help you understand the “banner” and “Action Center” settings.

Notifications settings for Windows 10 apps

What’s new with system experience on Windows 10 November 2019 Update

As part of the new features under the hood, Windows 10 version 1909 will ship with support for third-party digital assistants, containers, improved multi-core processor logic, better battery life, and more.

Digital assistant

Starting with version 1909, another new feature includes the ability for Windows 10 to support third-party digital assistants to voice activate above the Lock screen.

Containers

Windows containers require matched host and container version. This restricts customers and limits Windows containers from supporting mixed-version container pod scenarios This update includes several fixes to address this and allow the host to run down-level containers on up-level for process (Argon) isolation.

Processors

Windows 10 is introducing a new processor rotation policy that distributes work more fairly among these favored cores (logical processors of the highest available scheduling class).

Battery life

Windows 10 version 1909 also improves general battery life and power efficiency improvements for devices with certain processors.

Other changes

Computer manufacturers can now implement inking with reduced latency based on the hardware capabilities of their devices rather than being stuck with latency selected on typical hardware configuration by the OS.

Also, in this release, Key-rolling or Key-rotation feature enables secure rolling of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices upon on demand request from in-tune/MDM tools or upon every time recovery password is used to unlock the BitLocker protected drive. This feature will help prevent accidental recovery password disclosure as part of manual BitLocker drive unlock by users.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Overall the Windows 10 November 2019 Update is a good feature update that anyone running the May 2019 Update should install, as this release enhances the work available in the previous version. However, it’s not a significant update, and you won’t find huge features.

If you’re already running the May 2019 Update, the November 2019 Update will be available as a minor cumulative update through Windows Update, but if you’re running the October 2018 Update or an earlier version, the upgrade process will not change, and full reinstallation of the operating system will be required.

Editor’s note: This guide includes features and improvements that appeared until Windows 10 build 18363.449. It should be noted that this guide focuses on features for consumers, as Microsoft is also adding other features aimed for enterprises, which aren’t included here. (This guide was originally published on July 8, 2019, and last updated on November 11, 2019.)

— Update: 01-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article What’s new for IT pros in Windows 10, version 1909 from the website techcommunity.microsoft.com for the keyword windows 10 v1909 new features.

Windows 10, version 1909 is now available through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Windows Update for Business, and can be downloaded from Visual Studio Subscriptions, the Software Download Center (via the Media Creation Tool^[1]), and the Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC)^[2].

We recommend IT administrators begin targeted deployments of Windows 10, version 1909 to validate that the apps, devices, and infrastructure used by their organizations work as expected with the new features. As recently announced in blogs by John Cable and John Wilcox, Windows 10, version 1909 can be delivered in a new, streamlined fashion to devices currently running Windows 10, version 1903. For details on this new delivery approach, read John Wilcox’s blog post on Windows 10, version 1909 delivery options. The update process will be the same as previous feature updates for devices running Windows 10, version 1809 and older—or if you choose to deploy Windows 10, version 1909 from media.

Today marks the start of the servicing timeline for this Semi-Annual Channel release. By updating to Windows 10, version 1909, devices running the Enterprise and EDU editions will receive 30 months of support. (Devices running the Home, Pro, Pro for Workstations, Pro Education, and IoT Core will receive the standard 18 months of support.) For more details, see the Windows lifecycle fact sheet.

New features in Windows 10, version 1909

As you begin to roll out this new update to your organization, here are some of the new, key features and enhancements that will allow you to benefit from intelligent security, simplified updates, flexible management, and enhanced productivity.

Calendar – You can now create new events in your Calendar app by clicking the date and time on the Taskbar.
Cloud Clipboard^[3] – Let’s face it, you work on multiple devices. With this feature enabled, you can copy text, links, graphics – just about anything! – from one device and paste it onto another. Or you can go back and view the history of what’s recently been copied. You can use Cloud Clipboard with either an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account or Microsoft Account (MSA).
CPU rotation – A CPU may have multiple “favored” cores. To provide better performance and reliability, we’ve implemented a rotation policy that distributes the work more fairly among the favored cores.
Digital assistants – Third-party digital assistants can activate above the Lock screen using your voice commands.
Reduced inking latency – We’ve reduced inking latency by basing latency on the hardware capabilities of the devices rather than the latency selected on typical hardware configuration by the OS.
Intel processor debugging – We’ve added additional debugging capabilities for newer Intel processors, for our OEM partners and hardware manufacturers.
Kiosk mode – Users can customize their experience in Kiosk mode, while keeping their devices locked down. For example, you can allow a user to switch to a different language while blocking access to network settings.
Microsoft BitLocker key rolling – BitLocker and Mobile Device Management (MDM) with Azure AD^[4] work together to protect your devices from accidental password disclosure. Now, a new key-rolling feature securely rotates recovery passwords on MDM-managed devices. The feature is activated whenever a BitLocker-protected drive is unlocked using Microsoft Intune/MDM tools or a recovery password. As a result, the recovery password will be better protected when users manually unlock a BitLocker drive.
Narrator – Narrator and other assistive technologies can now detect the location of the dedicated FN key, and determine if it is locked or unlocked.
Notifications – We’ve made several improvements to manage and configure notifications:
- There is now a “Manage Notifications” button at the top of Action Center.
- You can configure and turn off notifications directly from the notification, both from the banner and from Action Center.
- The default sorting for notification senders will be by most recently shown notification, rather than sender name.
Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise in S mode – You can deploy and run traditional Win32 (desktop) apps without leaving the security of S mode by configuring the Windows 10 in S mode policy to support Win32 apps, then deploy them with Mobile Device Management (MDM) software such as Microsoft Intune^[5].
Windows Defender Credential Guard – Windows Defender Credential Guard is now available for ARM64 devices, for additional protection against credential theft for enterprises deploying ARM64 devices in their organizations, such as Surface Pro X.
Windows Sandbox – Windows Sandbox is an isolated desktop environment where you can install software without the fear of lasting impact to your device. This feature is available in Windows 10, version 1903. In Windows 10, version 1909 you have even more control over the level of isolation.
Windows Search – The Search box in Explorer is now powered by Windows Search, allowing results to include online OneDrive content. Additionally, the results appear instantly as you type.

11.21.2019 Editor’s note: We have updated this section to remove an error. Windows Sandbox does not support mixed-container scenarios at this time.

What else have we been up to?

To complement your Windows 10, version 1909 experience, we’ve been busy with other new, exciting products and features that you may have heard about!

Windows Virtual Desktop^[6] – Windows Virtual Desktop is now generally available. Windows Virtual Desktop is a comprehensive desktop and app virtualization service running in the cloud. It’s the only virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) that delivers simplified management, multi-session Windows 10, optimizations for Office 365 ProPlus, and support for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) environments. Deploy and scale your Windows desktops and apps on Azure in minutes and get built-in security and compliance features.
Desktop Analytics^[7] – Desktop Analytics is now generally available. Desktop Analytics is a cloud-connected service, integrated with Configuration Manager, that gives you data-driven insights to the management of your Windows endpoints. It provides insight and intelligence that you can use to make more informed decisions about the update readiness of your Windows endpoints.
Microsoft Connected Cache – Together with Delivery Optimization, Microsoft Connected Cache installed on your Configuration Manager distribution point, Windows Server, or Linux Server can seamlessly offload your traffic to local sources, caching content efficiently at the byte range level. Connected Cache is a “configure once and forget it” solution that transparently caches content that your devices on your network need.
Microsoft Endpoint Manager – As announced at Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft Endpoint Manager is a single, integrated endpoint management platform for managing all of your endpoints. We’re bringing Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune together and removing the migration barriers to allow you to leverage your existing Configuration Manager investments, while taking advantage of the power of the Microsoft cloud.

Frequently asked questions

On Tuesday, November 19, 2019 from 9:00-10:00 AM Pacific Time, we will be hosting a live Windows 10 Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) event on the Tech Community. This event is your opportunity to talk to the engineers and product managers—and ask them any questions you may have about update management, deployment, device management, identity management, policy settings, you name it.

To participate, visit https://aka.ms/ama/w10v1909 at 9:00 AM on November 19^th, sign in to Tech Community, and post your questions! We’ll have members of the Windows Autopilot, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Edge, Windows Servicing & Delivery, and other teams standing by to provide answers.

In the meantime, here are some answers to frequently asked questions that come up when we release a Windows 10 feature update.

Is there also a Windows Server release with this release?

Yes. The next Windows Server semi-annual channel (SAC) release is also available today. The Windows Server semi-annual channel is designed for customers who wish to take advantage of new operating system capabilities at a faster pace. Windows Server, version 1909 is focused on reliability, performance and other general improvements. It will be available from Azure Marketplace or the VLSC.

Will there be a new Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release?
No. Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 is the current LTSC option, and was released with Windows 10, version 1809 in November of 2018. The next LTSC release can be expected toward the end of 2021. Customers currently using the LTSC for special-purpose devices should start working to upgrade those devices to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019 as mainstream support for that release will continue until January 9, 2024.

Can I upgrade our devices from Windows 7 directly to Windows 10, version 1909?

Yes. You can directly upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10, version 1909. We strongly encourage you to begin your upgrade process immediately to avoid missing the January 14, 2020 end-of-support date for Windows 7.

How can I preview versions of Windows 10 before they become available? I want to start testing these new features early so I can deploy them when they are released!

The Windows Insider Program for Business team enables IT administrators to view and provide feedback on upcoming security, management, and productivity features ahead of release. Plus you can manage the installation of Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds across multiple devices in your organization using WSUS and Configuration Manager. For more information, see Publishing pre-release Windows 10 feature updates to WSUS.

Kits, tools, and resources

Windows 10, versions 1903 and 1909 share a common core operating system with an identical set of system files (again, see Windows 10, version 1909 delivery options for details), you can continue to use the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) for Windows 10 that was released with Windows 10, version 1903 for Windows 10, version 1909. This applies to developer kits, like the Windows HLK, HCK, and WinDbg.

We will, however, be updating the following resources for this release:

Windows 10 Enterprise Evaluation (free 90-day evaluation) – available now
Security baseline for Windows 10, version 1909 and Windows Server, version 1909 – available in the coming week

The Windows release health dashboard has also been updated so that you can easily see and track any known issues for Windows 10, version 1909 until they are mitigated and resolved.

To see a summary of the latest documentation updates, see What’s new in Windows 10, version 1909 IT pro content on Docs.

^[1] Update Assistant support for Windows 10, version 1909 will be available the week of November 18, 2019.

^[2] It may take 24 hours for downloads to be fully available in the VLSC across all products, markets, and languages.

^[3] Cloud Clipboard requires users to be signed into all devices using either MSA or AAD. Users must be signed into the same account across all devices.

^[4] Sold separately

^[5] Sold separately

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^[6] Windows Virtual Desktop requires a Microsoft E3 or E5 license, or a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license, as well as an Azure tenant. Each sold separately.

^[7] Desktop Analytics requires a Windows E3 or E5 license, or a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 license; sold separately.

— Update: 19-03-2023 — us.suanoncolosence.com found an additional article Windows 10 1909 (November 2019 Update) Features from the website www.itechguides.com for the keyword windows 10 v1909 new features.

The latest version of Windows 10 1909 was released November, 2019. This guide details Windows 10 1909 features.

By Victor Ashiedu | Updated August 5, 2022 | 9 minutes read

The features discussed in this guide are divided into two categories:

Windows 10 1909 Features for End Users
Windows 10 1909 Features for Administrators

Top Windows 10 1909 Features for End Users

This section details the top features of the latest Windows 10 Preview for end users. The features discussed in this section will be of interest to users.

If you are a Windows Systems Administrator and like to review the features beneficial to admins, read the features for admins, vendors and OEMs.

Here are the top features that will be of interest to a Windows user:

Ability to Create Events from Calendar Flyout on the Taskbar

This brand new feature makes it easy for you to add an event or reminder to your calendar.

To add an event from Taskbar Calendar flyout:

Click on the time and date on the right of task bar.

Then click the date you wish to add the event. Finally, add details of your event. Select a time range and click Save.

Start Menu Navigation Pane Now Expands on Hover

Before Windows 10 1909, when you hover over start menu navigation pane, you have to click to expand it.

Now if you hover over an item, it auto-expands. This makes it quicker for you to see the details of the item.

Here is a demo of this new Windows 10 1909 feature..

Click start menu.

If you hover over any of the highlighted menu items, it expands. You do not have to click it first. See the second image below…

“Notifications & Actions” Settings Sorting Now Defaults to Most Recent

The option to sort this setting was not available in the previous versions of Windows 10. Now you can sort it by Name or Most Recent.

Here is the demo of this new feature:

Right-click start menu and click System.

At Settings, click Notifications & actions.

Scroll down to Get notifications from these apps. It now has an option to Sort by which defaults to Most Recent. Compare this to the 1903 (see the second image below). The second image (Windows 10 1903) does not have a Sort by option. It sorts by Name…

“Manage Notifications” Button Now Included in Notifications

When you open a Notification, you now have a “Manage notifications” button right on top of the notification. When you click this button it takes you to Notifications & actions settings.

Search Box in File Explorer Now Powered by Windows Search

If this sounds very technical, it means that when you search for things in File Explorer, results will return faster.

This is beneficial to you as an end user as it makes it easier to find your files! When you type in File Explorer search bar, it auto-completes…

Here is a demo for this new feature:

Right-click start menu. Then click File Explorer.

When File Explorer opens, for a better search experience expand the search bar. To resize the search bar, place your mouse at the starting border of the search bar. The mouse will turn into a double-arrow resizing cursor. Drag left. Your File Explorer search bar will become wider. See the second image below.

Now when you type on the search bar, you have have faster result.

These are some of the major Windows 10 1909 features beneficial to end users.

Windows 10 1909 Features for Administrators, OEMs and Vendors

Here are some of the major features added to this new build that will be of interest to Windows Systems Administrators, Vendors and OEMs:

Windows Containers Require Matched Host and Container Version

This new feature restricts customers and limits Windows containers from supporting mixed-version container pod scenarios.

The update also includes 5 fixes to address this and allow the host to run down-level containers on up-level for process (Argon) isolation.

A New Fix that Allows OEMs to Reduce Inking Latency

One of the notable Windows 10 1909 features for OEMs is a fix that allows OEMs to reduce the inking latency based on the hardware capabilities of their devices.

Before this fix, OEMs could not adjust inking latency. They were stuck with latency selected on typical hardware configuration by the Operating System.

Key-rolling or Key-rotation Feature

This feature enables secure rolling of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices upon on demand request from Microsoft Intune/MDM tools or upon every time recovery password is used to unlock the BitLocker protected drive.

It will help prevent accidental recovery password disclosure as part of manual BitLocker drive unlock by users.

New Third-party Digital Assistants Voice Activation Option

This is one of the new Windows 10 1909 features for app vendors. It enables third-party digital assistants to voice activate above the Lock screen.

Additional Windows 10 1909 Features for Admins, OEMs and Vendors

Here are more features of this new feature upgrade that will interest OEMs, Admins and Vendors:

General improvements to battery life and power efficiency improvements for PCs with certain processors.
Implementation of a rotation policy that distributes work more fairly among multiple “favored” processors core (logical processors of the highest available scheduling class).
Windows Defender Credential Guard now available for ARM64 devices. This provides additional protection against credential theft for companies deploying ARM64 devices in their organizations.
Enterprises can now supplement the Windows 10 in S Mode policy to allow traditional Win32 (desktop) apps from Microsoft Intune.

These are the new Windows 10 1909 features.

I hope you found the article informative! If you did, kindly take a few minutes to let us know at Itechguides Community Forum.

Also, if you have any questions or wish to share other methods about Windows 10 1909 features, please post them at Itechguides Community Forum. We have a team of dedicated community forum staff and other members that are ready to answer your questions.

Furthermore, if you want to install this new version of Windows 10, click How to Install Windows 10 1909 (19H2) Preview Build.

Finally, for more Windows guides visit our Windows & Linux Explained page.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-10-1909-coming-soon-here-are-the-new-features/