Windows 10 build 9901 is filtered and reveals many new features

While Redmond continues to work on Windows 10, Technical Preview users will still have to wait a few weeks to see what's new are preparing. We already know that this year we won't have new builds available to us, but that doesn't mean we can't find out through leaks like the one that just happened with build 9901.

In the time that the Windows Insider program has been active and Windows 10 Technical Preview is available, this build 9901 is the one that seems to integrate the most new features into the system For starters, it shows Cortana working for the first time on the desktop. But not only that. The leaked build also brings with it a new Xbox app, as well as a revamped control panel and a more comprehensive app store.

Cortana is up and running

Build 9901 incorporates multiple innovations, but if it stands out for something, it is because the presence of Cortana We had already seen images showing what it could be the appearance of the wizard on the desktop, but in this build we can also see it running.

Access Cortana from a new search box that will appear to the left of the Start Menu button. In it we can write our query directly or press the microphone button to dictate it out loud. Cortana will then launch and will work similar to how it does on Windows Phone, retaining your avatar and animations.

The similarity with Windows Phone also extends to Cortana settings As in the mobile system, here we can select everything that we want to make the assistant available, being able to manually configure how far their knowledge of us will go. These options will remain synchronized between devices thanks to the use of our Microsoft account.

New apps and new Windows Store

The other great set of new features in this filtered build 9901 is represented by a good bunch of revamped versions of applications From the simple calculator application , which now only exists in the Modern UI style, to the Windows Store itself. A multitude of applications are being renewed and in this build the first betas of them begin to be seen.

Among all of them, the new Xbox application stands out, partly because of the moment it appears, after confirming the presence of Phil Spencer in the next Windows 10 event, and partly also because of what it shows to be significant. It, which has an appearance similar to the Xbox One dashborad, seems to act as a hub where we can accumulate all our experience in the ecosystem that Microsoft is building around Xbox.

And be careful, because in Windows 10 that ecosystem and everything that surrounds it could be greatly enhanced. This seems to be indicated by the presence of a beta version of the Windows Store, in which the store not only acts as a repository for applications, but also as a place to buy games , music or movies and TV series.

Refining the interface and settings

The renewal in the applications that this build 9901 begins to show is also visible in the appearance of fundamental parts of the system. The settings section itself is being modified to look like a mesh of icons, in what seems to be a first attempt to abandon the traditional Control Panel

The taskbar has also received slight modifications, now appearing more opaque and with a darker color by default. The presence of the search field from which to consult Cortana also alters its appearance, although it can be replaced by the magnifying glass icon or the multiple desktop icon that we had up to now in the Technical Preview.

And the thing goes further in small details such as the buttons on the windows or the disappearance of the configuration button from the charms bar.They all add up to the leak of a build that seems to be the first to integrate features from the Consumer Preview version that Microsoft could announce in January. It will be then when we can begin to learn and test first-hand what Windows 10 will mean for the consumer market.

Via | The Verge | WinSuperSite | WinBeta Images | myce | The Collection Book