IFA 2017: Windows 10 Fall Creators Update Gets 17 October Launch Date

Microsoft says its vision of ‘Mixed Reality’ computing comprising elements of virtual and augmented realities (VR & AR) will be realised with the arrival of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update on 17 October.

The company has long touted mixed reality as the next evolution of personal computing, most notably with its own HoloLens device.

It laid the foundation for a more creative operating system with the Creators Update earlier this year, but is now building on that with new 3D features, updates to media applications and gaming enhancements.

Read More: The weird and wonderful of IFA 2017

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Underneath, it promises better security protection – most notably against the scourge of ransomware – but also support for OneDrive Files on Demand, which presents files on Windows Explorer without taking up local storage.

Microsoft has been testing several of these features in its Windows Insider Preview Programme, including eye control. Last month, it moved testers onto separate programmes so it could ensure a stable version when Fall Creators Update was ready for release.

“We are coming up on our fourth major update to Windows 10, and our mission with these updates is to create a platform that inspires your creativity,” Terry Myerson, head of Microsoft’s Windows and Devices Group told IFA in Berlin.

“We see students playing and learning with Minecraft, lawyers creating with words, accountants painting with numbers, designers sharing their ideas with slides, and engineers crafting in code. Creativity is universal and it’s aspirational in its nature.”

At IFA, several manufacturers, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo have detailed mixed reality headsets, which will go on sale at the same time the new version of Windows 10 is rolled out. Microsoft wants to make the devices as affordable as possible and claims the cheapest will be $299.

For those without a headset, there will be a Mixed Reality viewer within Windows 10 on desktop.

It had been thought that the Fall Creators Update would arrive in September and one feature definitely not included is Timeline.

The Timeline feature was designed to allow Windows 10 users to switch between the using the operating system on multiple devices, including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, with Timeline allowing them to pick up where they left off by keeping track of running apps and tasks.

However it is now expected that Timeline will arrive early in 2018.

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