A new preview build
- A new Windows 10 preview build is rolling out to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel.
- Today's preview build backports Windows 11's new rich weather interface on the lock screen to Windows 10.
- Clicking on the weather interface will open Microsoft Edge and take you to the MSN website for a more detailed breakdown of the weather.
Microsoft is planning to bring a richer weather experience to the Windows 10 lock screen, something the company is already testing with Insiders on Windows 11. In this week's Windows 10 preview build, the company says it will "soon" introduce the more dynamic, interactive weather update interface.
Here is how Microsoft describes the new weather experience for Windows 10:
The coming weeks will bring a richer weather experience to your lock screen. This includes dynamic, interactive weather updates. So, as you hover over the weather on your lock screen, you will see more information. When you tap or click on the weather card and sign in, Microsoft Edge opens with the full forecast in MSN weather. If you already use Weather in Settings > Personalization > lock screen > Lock screen status, there is nothing for you to do. Also, this new experience will be on by default if Lock screen status is set to “None.” Like today, lock screen status will be available when you lock your screen no matter which personalization option you select (Windows spotlight, Picture, or Slideshow).
Last year, Microsoft announced that it had reevaluated its Windows 10 strategy, and decided to reinvest resources into delivering new features and experiences to the older Windows release. The change comes as new leadership takes over Windows development, with goals to get as many of Microsoft's services in front of as many Windows users as possible.
So it's no surprise to see a feature that's designed to advertise MSN is being backported to a version of Windows with the majority of users. Windows 10 still has around 1 billion active devices in circulation, compared to the 400 million devices on Windows 11.
Microsoft has already announced that it's planning to bring Windows Copilot to Windows 10 users soon too, with that expected to go into testing in the coming weeks. I suspect we'll be seeing more features make its way to Windows 10 over the next year as well.
In fact, my sources tell me that Microsoft is planning to reopen the Windows Insider Beta Channel for Windows 10 users soon, which will likely be used to test new Windows 10 features that are still in development.
