Windows 10 November 2019 Update is now available: these are its new features and how you can install it

In the end Microsoft has fulfilled what we all expected and launched Windows 10 November 2019 Update on November 12. A few hours ago, all those who have a device with Windows 10 May 2019 Update, can update their computers (without meeting the requirements) to the most recent version of the Microsoft operating system

Windows 10 November 2019 Update was expected but not as much as the version that should arrive in the first half of 2020 and that corresponds with branch 20H1.The reason is that we are not going to find too many new features in Windows 10 November 2019 Update, leaving a good part of them relegated to the spring update. However, we are going to review what the latest update offers and how we can install it.

Notification improvements

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To make it easier to access Notifications, they can now be found more quickly thanks to the inclusion of a shortcut in the Message Center Actions."

To optimize your control, each warning or notification will have a menu to configure the preferences, that is, mute the warning, change the frequency with which it appears, configure the dropdown… and all from one place.

File Explorer Improvements

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A classic, File Explorer, which with Windows 10 November 2019 Update becomes integrated with Windows Search in the search engine of the top right. From a single place we will have access and we will be able to open applications or documents both locally and in the OneDrive cloud."

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A single search bar for everything that is a departure from what they did by separating Cortana from the Search Bar. "

Start Menu and Taskbar Improvements

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Now the Action Center>makes it easy for us to create events in the calendar without having to navigate through different options. For this purpose, a window is displayed in which we can create an event and attribute different characteristics to it."

In addition, the integration with the mouse pointer has been improved, so that it is enough to move the mouse over the icons of the Menu Start so that information is displayed automatically without us having to press any button.

Cortana loses exclusivity

Cortana has it more and more difficult and good proof is that now in Windows 10 November 2019 Update the user can choose the voice assistant they prefer. Cortana is no longer an obligation and for example we can choose to use Alexa or Google Assistant and also, it is not necessary for the screen to be active. The chosen wizard works the same whether the computer has the screen turned off or locked.

Performance improvements

Computers with Intel processors see improved performance with this update. The operation of Windows 10 has been optimized to increase the autonomy of the equipment by making the processor and its components execute tasks more efficiently.

They have added a function called Favored CPU Core Optimization so that now the operating system can determine in each case which core is the most suitable for every task. In this way, performance can be improved by up to 15%. In addition, this improvement will be more noticeable in the case of Intel SoCs that support Turbo Boost 2.0 and Turbo Boost Max 3.0.

Requirements to update

The advantage of this update is that there are hardly any changes in terms of necessary requirements if we compare it with the update of the Month of May. Our equipment must have these basic characteristics:

• 1 GB of RAM memory for 32-bit versions or 2 GB of RAM if we use a 64-bit version.
• 32 GB of space when upgrading from Windows 10 May 2019 Update.
• 1 GHz (x86) processor with PAE, NX, SSE2 and support for CMPXCHG16b, LAHF/SAHF and PrefetchW.
• Screen resolution 800 x 600 pixels.
• Graphics card compatible with DirectX 9 and WDDM 1.0 or higher.

How to update

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If you have Windows 10 May 2019 Update on your computer, you are one step away from the update released a few hours ago. You can access it through Windows Update. Just go to Configuration>"

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In the event that Windows 10 November 2019 Update or Windows 10 1999 (the 19H2 branch) is available, just click on Download and install nowand Windows Update will start the download and update process that may take longer depending on the network connection and the computer we are using.For this update, they have also managed to shorten the duration of the process compared to previous updates."

This is the normal way to update, but we can also force the update ourselves, something that is not highly recommended since many prefer allow a few days to check for major failures.

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If we choose to force the download, we can use two methods: either use the Upgrade Tool>"

If, on the contrary, the update appears as available and we don't want to install it, we can always postpone it before it is automatically activated and thus wait for check if it is free of stall errors.

More information | Microsoft