Windows 10 April 2018 Update: The ultimate changelog

Windows 10 Cloud Wallpaper (Image credit: Microsoft)

The Windows 10 April 2018 Update, also known as Redstone 4 is just about ready for launch, meaning it shouldn't be long before the rolls it out to the public. To prepare, here's a consolidated list of all the noteworthy changes coming in the next Windows 10 update!

Keep in mind this changelog only includes things that result in new features or big changes. We are not including a list of fixes in this changelog. For that, you can check out the official Windows Blog.

Windows Shell

Fluent Design reveal effects have been softened
Fluent Design Acrylic and Reveal effects are now showcased in more areas of the Shell.
The Start menu now features Fluent Design "reveal" effects in tiles and the apps list.
The "clear all", "expand", "collapse" and "see more" text in the Action Center now uses your chosen accent color.
You can now use a two finger swipe gesture to dismiss all notifications in the Action Center.
Windows will now show you your personalized lock screen when selecting your account on the login page.
The Calendar fly-out on the taskbar now features reveal effects.
Contacts pinned to the taskbar now show a list of connected apps rather than tiles.
The Taskbar now features the Acrylic blur effect.
Action Center notifications now feature Fluent Design reveal effects.
The "clear all" text in Action Center now says "clear all notifications" instead.
Nearby Share is now present in the Share UI and lets you share content between nearby devices.
Right-clicking a live tile will give you the option of jumping straight into that apps Settings.
Task View now includes Timeline that allows you to go back and resume apps you had open in the past up to 30 days.
Virtual Desktops has moved to the top of the Task View UI.
Fluent Design effects will be disabled when in battery saver mode.
The My People Hub now features Reveal and Acrylic effects.
You can now drag to reposition contacts pinned to the Taskbar.
You can now drag contacts between the Taskbar and the My People Hub.
Quiet Hours has been renamed to Focus Assist and has been updated with new features.
Documents and Pictures are now listed in the Start menu hamburger menu by default.
On devices with Windows Hello support, users can now setup Hello directly from the login screen.
The Xbox Gamebar has been updated with a new Fluent design UI.
Users on Windows 10 S can now use the Microsoft Authenticator app to log in to their PC.
Eye Control has been updated with more functions in the eyebar.

Microsoft Edge

You can now mute audio coming from a specific tab.
Edge now has the ability to save free EPUB books.
Edge will now automatically fill out preferred information in address and related forms.
The Edge UI now features an improved UI with Fluent Design reveal effects and more prominent Acrylic title bar.
The EPUB and PDF bookmarks UI has been updated.
The book and PDF reader has been updated with a new UI, including new dark and light modes.
Reading progress within books and PDF documents will roam faster across devices.
Edge now supports Service Workers that allows websites to send notifications and refresh in the background even when Edge is closed.
The Hub has been redesigned with a new hamburger menu and larger slide-out panel.
The favorites bar will now automatically show on the Start or New Tab pages, just like in other web browsers.
Extensions can now be used when InPrivate browsing is enabled.
You can now vertically dock the Edge DevTools panel.

Cortana

Cortana now has a new Lists/Collections app that allows you to create Lists that sync across devices with Cortana.
Cortana's proactive content will now appear in Action Center.
Cortana is now better at alerting you of apps that you can pick up where you left off.
Cortana now features a new Notebook UI that better promotes things like Skills, Lists and more.
The user's profile picture is now showcased in Cortana's hamburger menu.

Input improvements

Touch keyboard now features Fluent Design.
Physical keyboard users now have the option to enable an on-screen text suggestions function.
The wide virtual keyboard now features shape-writing.
New gestures when writing with a pen are now present in the pen insert field.
You can now insert more than one emoji at once when using the emoji panel.
You can now change the font used in the handwriting panel.
The emoji panel now supports more languages.
Pen users will now see a handwriting panel automatically popup when selecting a text field.
Some emoji have been updated with a new look.

Settings and miscellaneous

Settings now features a new redesign with Reveal effects and Acrylic blur.
You can now configure Startup apps in Settings.
There is now a color wheel in the Ease of Access area.
Ease of Access has been categorized into subcategories in the sidebar and reorganized.
Sound settings are now present in the Settings app.
Storage Sense now includes Disk Cleanup settings and functions.
Font settings are now available in Settings.
Users can now limit download bandwidth for updates in the foreground.
You can now manage what data is stored in Timeline.
You can now adjust how bright SDR content appears when using an HDR monitor.
Windows Update will now place an update icon in the System Tray when there is an update pending.
You can now customize the number of contacts that can be pinned to the Taskbar up to 10.
Users can now recover local accounts from the lock screen.
More Control Panel elements such as Fonts, Display, Sound, and more have now been moved into Settings.
There is now a new Keyboards area located in Settings.
Language Packs are now powered by the Microsoft Store and feature a new install UI.
HomeGroup has been removed.
You can now customize what apps send notifications when Focus Assist is on, and can also schedule a time for it to automatically enable and disable.
Some Bluetooth peripherals can now be paired with one click.
Windows Update will now prevent a PC on AC power from going to sleep if there is an update pending in the last two hours.
A new privacy settings page will present itself during device setup.
Windows Defender Application Guard features new changes such as performance improvements, and the ability to download files to the host.
HEIF file format is now supported.

Check out some more changelogs?

Interested in what's coming next or want to look back at the changelog of older updates? Check out our other Windows 10 update changelogs below!

Updated March 25, 2018: We updated this changelog with the latest changes found in build 17133.