Over the past few weeks, we have seen a regular routine of Fast Ring builds for Windows 10 (19H1), including Build 18351 and 18353 last week, being pushed out to Windows Insiders. 

As I have stated before, this is exactly what we want to be seeing at this point in the development of the seventh feature update for Windows 10 because we are just a couple of weeks away from what should be the final build for this update. 

Today’s new build, 18356, actually has an indicator that brings us one step closer to that stage as the desktop watermark is now gone in this testing builds release.

The removal of the watermark does not mean this is the final build of the April 2019 Update. In fact, it is far from it as we have seen in past feature update development cycles. What is does mean is that we are getting closer to that point but as many of you already know, Microsoft will not make a formal announcement that any given build is the final one for this update.

However, plenty of the sites that track these builds and write about them will start to tell you why this build or that build is the final one. Bottom line, is that a build that makes its way from the Fast Ring, then to the Slow Ring and then the Release Preview Ring will likely be that final build. Of course, that is all subject to change at any given time because they are pre-release builds until that update hits Windows Update for seekers.

In the interim though, we can also see with the release notes for Windows 10 (19H1) Build 18356 that the list of known issues has shrunk to just four items and that list has been getting smaller over the last few builds. Again – exactly what we expect to happen at this point in the feature updates development cycle.

One thing that is being highlighted with this builds release is the introduction of Screen Mirroring with the Your Phone app. There are a few hurdles to use this new capbility though at this early stage:

• Latest Insider builds – anything above 18335.
• Your Phone app version 1.0.20701.0
• An android Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+/S9/S9+ running at least Android 7.0
• A Windows 10 PC with a Bluetooth radio supporting low energy peripherals

Of course the phone and PC must be within Bluetooth range to work. 

Note: Here are instructions on how to check if your PC supports the low energy peripheral capability.

If all of the above items are lined up for you then Screen Mirroring should work. The basic premise behind this capability is to interact with your phone based Android apps on your computer screen using keyboard and mouse. Touch is also an option but does not work in this early release.

Be aware – there are some known issues for Screen Mirroring in the Your Phone app:

• Touch input doesn’t work yet
• Always on display will not be shown on the phone screen displayed on the PC
• Blue light preferences will not be applied on the phone screen displayed on the PC
• Audio will play out of the phone speakers, not the PC
• Double clicking may bring down notification center
• Some games and apps do not support mouse interactions (e.g. Pokémon Go, Merge Dragons, Feedly)
• If you turn on the setting to hide soft keyboard when a physical keyboard is present your soft keyboard will disappear whenever you’re within Bluetooth range of your PC regardless of the state of the Your Phone app or phone screen session

So if you are trying this out, please let us know in the comments how things are working. This is a capability I am really looking forward to trying out.

Finally, as I have been doing since late last year when Reserved Storage for Windows 10 was introduced, I have an update for the usage tracking for this feature. Today’s build gives us our 12th data point in how much space Reserved Storage is using in 19H1.

• Surface Book
  • Build 18312 – 7.09GB
  • Build 18317 – 6.75GB
  • Build 18323 – 7.11GB
  • Build 18329 – 6.40GB
  • Build 18334 – 7.26GB
  • Build 18342 – 7.26GB
  • Build 18343 – 7.26GB
  • Build 18346 – 7.26GB
  • Build 18348 – 7.08GB
  • Build 18351 – 7.02GB
  • Build 18353 – 7.02GB
  • Build 18356 – 7.02GB
• HP EliteOne1K
  • Build 18312 – 2.50GB
  • Build 18317 – 7.05GB
  • Build 18323 – 7.41GB
  • Build 18329 – 7.41GB
  • Build 18334 – 7.50GB
  • Build 18342 – N/A
  • Build 18343 – 6.51GB
  • Build 18346 – 6.42GB
  • Build 18348 – 7.21GB
  • Build 18351 – 7.21GB
  • Build 18353 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18356 – 7.27GB
• HP Spectre x360 (2015)
  • Build 18312 – 5.61GB
  • Build 18317 – 6.64GB
  • Build 18323 – 6.02GB
  • Build 18329 – 6.99GB
  • Build 18334 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18342 – N/A
  • Build 18343 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18346 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18348 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18351 – 7.04GB
  • Build 18353 – 7.04GB
  • Build 18356 – 7.04GB
• Virtual Machine
  • Build 18312 – 7.04GB
  • Build 18317 – 7.13GB
  • Build 18323 – 7.06GB
  • Build 18329 – 7.06GB
  • Build 18334 – 7.20GB
  • Build 18342 – 7.27GB
  • Build 18343 – 7.18GB
  • Build 18346 – 7.18GB
  • Build 18348 – 7.13GB
  • Build 18351 – 6.99GB
  • Build 18353 – 6.99GB
  • Build 18356 – 6.99GB

As you can see, the last few builds have really stabilized the amount of these hard drives that are being set aside for Reserved Storage. This feature should help prevent a lot of the update issues that occur during Windows 10 updates that run into a lack of storage space to manage the data that is moved around during the upgrade process.

Of course, Reserved Storage will not help you move to the Windows 10 April 2019 Update, but when the 19H2 feature update comes out later this year, it will kick into action and assist in managing that available disk space.

The latest data points for Skip Ahead builds being released for Windows 10 (20H1) are here.

Windows 10 (19H1) Build 18356 Screenshot Gallery