Windows 10¡¯s October 2018 Update (version 1809) — codenamed Redstone 5 — will be the sixth major release of the operating system set to deliver new features and enhancements. It¡¯s also the second update part of the semi-annual rollout, and even though, we¡¯re still a few weeks away from the final release, thanks to the previews that Microsoft has been making available in the releasing in the Windows Insider Program, we now have a more clear picture of what to expect.

Windows 10 version 1809 release date:  Microsoft kicked off the Redstone 5 (RS5) development with  Windows 10 build 17604  in the Skip Ahead lane, and the company is expected to start rolling out  Windows 10 October 2018 Update  some time in October 2018 following the  semi-annual schedule . (Usually, Microsoft releases new versions of Windows 10 during Patch Tuesday, so my release date prediction is October 9, 2018.)

Getting the Windows 10 version 1809:  If your device is compatible, the new version will automatically download through Windows Update. Alternatively, you can install the update using the  Media Creation Tool to do a clean  or  in-place upgrade , Update Assistant, or you can also download the ISO file to create a USB bootable media (when released).

In this  guide , we¡¯ll dive deep into the new features and changes Microsoft is including with version 1809. You can also follow the  Redstone 5 development here , and you can check  all the changes for version 1803 in this guide . (Microsoft is also removing and deprecating a number of functionalities with this new version —  Here¡¯s this list .) 

To prepare for a successful upgrade without problems,  you can follow this guide . If you¡¯re not ready to upgrade, you can use this guide to  prevent Windows 10 from installing the October 2018 Update on your device . Also, check out  the  best 7 features  coming to version 1809 , and the  hidden features  you have yet to discover .

• What¡¯s new on desktop experience
• What¡¯s new on Settings experience
• What¡¯s new on input experience
• What¡¯s new on system experience
• What¡¯s new on Microsoft Edge
• What¡¯s new on Windows Security
• What¡¯s new on built-in apps

What¡¯s new on desktop experience

You can check out this walkthrough video with all the changes included in the most recent Windows 10 Insider Preview  builds .

Start menu

In this new feature update, it¡¯s now possible to hide scroll bars on the Start menu using ¡°Automatically hide scroll bars in Windows¡± option in the Ease of Access settings, and you can now name your  tile folders in the Start menu .

Search

Originally, the Start menu only included search in previews for web results, and in the new version, the experience is expanding to apps, documents, and more. The new search preview will help you to get back to recent documents, quickly start new tasks, disambiguate between files by seeing more info, and access quick answers from the web.

In addition, Microsoft is tweaking the web previews so that if you¡¯re search for third-party applications, you¡¯ll now get a button to download the app from the official download page.

Also, the updated search experience now has a wider interface that allows you to access more information and actions a lot faster.

Action Center

In Action Center, notifications appear with a fade-in animation when opening the experience, and the notification to fix blurry apps now appears on Action Center once the toast has timed out and dismissed. Also, you¡¯ll now see notifications for supported Bluetooth devices running low in battery, and when Windows 10 blocks an app from accessing your microphone.

File Explorer

In this new version, Windows 10 introduces a new dark theme for File Explorer and context menu that you can enable using the ¡°Colors¡± page in the ¡°Personalization¡± section of the Settings app.

• How to enable Microsoft Edge dark theme on Windows 10

Alongside the ability to open PowerShell, the File Explorer (Shift + right click) context menu now also adds the ¡°Open Linux Shell here¡± option. In addition, the sorting by ¡°Size¡± filters have been updated when viewing files using the ¡°Details¡± view. When you upgrade to this version, you¡¯ll find Tiny, Small, Medium, Large, Huge and Gigantic are now defined as 0 – 10KB, 16KB – 1MB, 1MB to 128MB, 128MB – 1GB, 1GB – 4GB, and > 4GB, respectively.

In addition, on the  Share  tab in File Explorer, the  Remove access  and  Advanced security  icons have been updated to be more modern.

Clipboard

On Windows 10 version 1809, you¡¯re getting a new clipboard experience that leverages the Microsoft cloud to copy and paste content across devices.

The experience works just like before, using the  Ctrl + C  to copy and  Ctrl + V  to paste. However, now there¡¯s a new experience that you can open using the  Windows key + V  keyboard shortcut that allows you to see your clipboard history. In addition, the experience includes a button to  clear all  your history, or enable the feature if it¡¯s currently disabled.

Using the new experience, you can also paste anything that is listed in the history, and you can pin items for things you paste all the time.

• How to disable clipboard experience on Windows 10
• How to sync clipboard across devices on Windows 10
• How to clear clipboard history on Windows 10

The history roams using the same technology for  Timeline , which means you can access your clipboard across any Windows 10 device.

The new clipboard also brings a new settings page in the  System  section that allows you to customize many aspects of the experience.

Projecting to this PC

Starting with version 1809, in order to help you know when you¡¯re wirelessly projecting, and quickly disconnect and reconnect, Windows 10 will show a new control banner at the top of the screen when you¡¯re using the ¡°Projecting to this PC¡± feature.

The banner will keep you inform about the state of your connection, allow you to quick disconnect or reconnect, and tune the connection.

Clicking the gear button allows you to optimize the screen latency depending on the mode that you¡¯re using:

• Game mode —  minimizes the screen to screen latency to make gaming over a wireless connection possible.
• Video mode —  increases the screen to screen latency to ensure the video on the big screen plays back smoothly and without glitching.
• Productivity modes —  strikes a good balance between game mode a