My take on the Windows 10 Creators Update

Microsoft revealed the name of the upcoming Windows 10 update today; the Windows 10 Creators Update will be out in 2017 (likely March).

The company revealed several upcoming features of Windows 10 Creators Update today. While those events get me excited usually, this one in particular did not.

Remember the 3D Builder app that Windows 10 ships with? The announcement felt a lot like that app. Interesting, but nothing that I will ever make use of.

I'm not the role model of all Windows 10 users, and it is certainly the case that users will find some or even all of the new features and improvements useful.

Windows 10 Creators Update

Lets take a look first at what Microsoft revealed today.  The first new feature put the focus on 3D which Microsoft said is "for everyone". The company highlighted the new Paint application which we covered a while ago, and demonstrated how to take 3D Photos and use them in Paint and other applications such as Minecraft or PowerPoint, and how easy it is for users to share their 3D creations on Facebook.

3D images can also be viewed with Hololens. Microsoft's Windows 10 Creators Update will be compatible with various VR masks created by companies like Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo and Acer.

The second feature that Microsoft revealed focused on gaming, or more precisely on game broadcasting.

Microsoft plans to ship the Windows 10 Creators Update with native game broadcasting (powered by Beam which Microsoft acquired in August). Windows 10 gamers may use it to stream videos of games that they play, making things easier than they are currently.

Another new gaming related feature is the ability to create custom gaming tournaments. The feature is called Arena and part of Xbox Live.

The third new feature is a concentration on human connections and people. This leaked earlier as well, and what it does basically is add face icons of important key people to the Taskbar.

You can share files with those people using drag and drop, or interact with them in other ways directly from the taskbar.

My Take

What Microsoft revealed today is likely just a tiny fraction of what is coming with the Creators Update. At least, I hope that is the case as the features that were highlighted are of no use to me.

The 3D feature may appeal to some users, but I doubt that it has mass market appeal. This may change in the future but I cannot see this getting a lot of traction in the coming years.

Game streaming is popular and Microsoft could grab a share of the market if it does it right. Not something that I will use personally but I can see it become popular with part of the gaming community.

It all depends on game and platform support, monetization options, speed, reliability, performance, game support and a lot more. Considering that some games suggest to turn of the DVR functionality of Windows 10 to avoid performance drops in games, it is an area that Microsoft needs to improve a lot before it has a chance to become mainstream or a contender.

The People in the Taskbar feature is not my cup of tea either. Not only is it a bit creepy if some people look at you all the time -- think of your mum watching you doing things on the PC -- it is also just a shortcut to interact with people.

I can see this being useful in a business context where you may be in contact with a small group of people regularly. Still, this is not something that I plan to use and I hope there are options to turn these features off.

Now You: What's your take on the features revealed for the Windows 10 Creators Update?