Microsoft Windows 10 – Version 1903 – May 2019

This article lists a few new and updated features and content that are of interest to IT Pros for Windows 10 version 1903, also known as the Windows 10 May 2019 Update. 

When the Windows 10 May 2019 Update is ready for your device, it will be available to download from the Windows Update page in Settings. Choose a time that works best for you to download the update. You’ll then need to restart your device and complete the installation. After that, your device will be running Windows 10, version 1903.

After installation, the OS build will be 18362.116

Microsoft Edge

Windows 10, version 1903 offers new Group Policies and MDM policies for managing Microsoft Edge. You can silently enable BitLocker for standard Azure Active Directory-joined users. You can also more easily manage the entire Microsoft 365 experience for users with the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Several new features are coming in the next version of Edge. See the news from Build 2019 for more information.

Reserved storage

Reserved Storage is a new feature that is meant to set aside part of the available storage to use as temporary storage to reduce problems installing updates.

Usually, this new feature will reserve around 7GB of storage for updates, temporary files, system cache, and apps. Then, when a new update is available, Windows 10 will delete the files located in the reserved storage automatically to make room to install the update.

Updates

• Extended ability to pause updates for both feature and monthly updates. This extension ability is for all editions of Windows 10, including Home. Based on user feedback we know that any update can come at an inconvenient time, such as when a PC is needed for a big presentation. So, we’re making it possible for all users to pause both feature and monthly updates for up to 35 days (seven days at a time, up to five times). Once the 35-day pause period is reached, users will need to update their device before pausing again.
• Intelligent active hours to avoid disruptive update restarts. The active hours feature, introduced in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, relies on a manually configured time range to avoid automatically installing updates and rebooting. Many users leave the active hours setting at its 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. default. To further enhance active hours, users will now have the option to let Windows Update intelligently adjust active hours based on their device-specific usage patterns.
• Improved update orchestration to improve system responsiveness. This feature will improve system performance by intelligently coordinating Windows updates and Microsoft Store updates, so they occur when users are away from their devices to minimize disruptions.

Windows Autopilot

Windows Autopilot is a collection of technologies used to set up and pre-configure new devices, getting them ready for productive use. The following Windows Autopilot features are available in Windows 10, version 1903 and later:

Windows Autopilot for white glove deployment is new in this version of Windows. “White glove” deployment enables partners or IT staff to pre-provision devices so they are fully configured and business ready for your users.

The Intune enrollment status page (ESP) now tracks Intune Management Extensions.

Cortana voiceover and speech recognition during OOBE is disabled by default for all Windows 10 Pro Education, and Enterprise SKUs.

Windows Autopilot is self-updating during OOBE. Starting with the Windows 10, version 1903 Autopilot functional and critical updates will begin downloading automatically during OOBE.

Windows Autopilot will set the diagnostics data level to Full on Windows 10 version 1903 and later during OOBE.