Microsoft announced a new update to its current version of Windows 8 that brings various improvements prior to its public release on October 26. The update includes improvements to Windows 8 in broad areas of performance, power management and battery efficiency, media playback, and compatibility.
Microsoft has previously brought updates to its OEM’s, ahead of the launch of a new version of Windows. Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky said in his announcement “We would often create dozens of changes for each OEM for these new PCs. Those changes would be deployed during manufacturing of those PCs and thus would be invisible to customers. While those changes could potentially apply to a broader range of PCs, we did not have in place the testing and certification to broadly distribute these updates.”
The update of 170 MB rolls out today, but only MSDN and enterprise customers will be able to upgrade it to post-RTM version. Microsoft lists out some of the major enhancements that are included in the update package:
- Increased power efficiency to extend battery life
- Performance improvements in Windows 8 applications and Start screen
- Improved audio and video playback in many scenarios
- Improved application and driver compatibility with Windows 8
Microsoft is also rolling out a number of updates to its built-in Metro style apps for Windows 8, which includes improvements to its Mail app for conversation view and an update to support Xbox Music. These updates would follow its “Patch Tuesday” pattern with Windows 8, where the company will issue out a set of new updates on every second Tuesday of each month.
