Windows 10 Creators Update ‘Set For April’
The upcoming Windows 10 version introduces augmented reality headset and 3D support
Microsoft plans to release the Windows 10 Creators Update in April, introducing the Windows Holographic user interface for virtual reality headsets, according to a report by MS Power User.
The Windows 10 Creators Update was first announced in October with a vague launch window of early 2017.
Gradual rollout
The release was previously planned for March, but the current April date is unlikely to change again, according to the website’s sources.
Microsoft plans to roll out the update to users gradually as an automatic upgrade, as it did with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update in August, but users are also to be given the option to manually download it.
The release is to be feature-locked by mid to late January, giving developers time to focus on bug fixes and fine tuning the software.
Windows 10 Creators Update has the codename “Redstone 2”, and Microsoft is already in the early planning stages for a “Redstone 3” update expected to bring in features including a new design language. That release is planned for before the end of 2017, according to the report.
Microsoft has said it plans to add Windows Holographic “augmented reality” features to Windows 10 with Creators Update, making the technology available for the first time on PCs.
Mixed reality
The platform currently runs only on the HoloLens device, a virtual reality headset that runs a specialised version of Windows 10 that launched in Europe last year after an initial period of availability in North America.
While the HoloLens Developer Edition costs more than £2,700 in the UK, manufacturers including Asus, Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo have said they will release VR headsets designed to work with Windows 10 PCs for as little as one-tenth of that price.
The headset technology is intended to allow digital imagery (which Microsoft calls “holograms”) to be integrated with what users see around them in a way similar to Google’s experimental Glass device.
The Creators Update is also expected to include a 3D version of Microsoft Paint, updates to the Action Centre notification tool and a blue-light reduction feature set to begin public testing shortly.
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