Microsoft today officially announced the release date of the next feature update for Windows 10, formerly referred to as the "Spring Creators Update" but known officially as the "Windows 10 April 2018 Update."
This is the latest and greatest version of Windows 10 that is expected to begin rolling out for free to all Windows 10 users starting Monday, April 30. Insiders have been testing this release over the last several months (known as "Redstone 4"), and the update is finally fully baked and ready for public consumption. For more specifics, read our full review.
Windows 10 April 2018 Update Review: It's all about the little things
In an official blog post, Microsoft confirmed that this release is called the April 2018 Update and is primarily focused on helping you manage your time with features like Timeline and Focus Assist.
Windows 10 April Update and a focus on productivity
Several of the new features coming in the April 2018 Update are focused around making you more productive, with Timeline letting you resume and sync activities across devices, and Focus Assist helping you stay focused when working or playing.
From Microsoft:
With Windows 10, we've focused on delivering the most modern and most secure operating system. Since its initial launch, we delivered two updates with features designed to enable the creator in each of us. With our latest major release – the Windows 10 April 2018 Update - we want to give you back some of your greatest currency, your time. Our hope is that you'll have more time to do what matters most to you – create, play, work or simply do what you love.
The update should begin rolling out on Monday, but not everybody will receive it right away. Just like with previous feature updates, Microsoft will begin rolling out to a small group at first to ensure there are no major issues with the rollout, and then slowly widen its availability to more and more devices.
The previous Windows 10 Fall Creators Update only took a couple of months to reach broad availability, so we assume it won't be too long before the April Update is available to everybody.
The April Update is known as Version 1803, which is what will show up in Windows Update when the update is ready for you. Windows Insiders in the Fast, Slow, and Release Preview rings are already running the public version of the April Update, and as such do not need to do anything to get this update.
If you wish to remain on the April Update, now would be a great time to drop to the Release Preview ring or drop out altogether to avoid being updated to pre-release builds of the next Windows 10 update coming later this year.
Why you should opt-out of the Windows Insider Program after April 2018 Update releases
Before the update begins rolling out, make sure you check out our in-depth written review detailing all the best new features and changes coming in the April Update!
