Microsoft has released Windows 10 Build 10525 to the Insider Preview fast ring. The new build has a color option to change the title bars, start, action center and the taskbar while a new Compression Storage for better memory management has been introduced for more responsiveness, similar to Mac OS X’s ‘Compressed Memory’ feature.
I have been using the fast ring builds since a long time and have a dedicated Windows 10 tablet on hand ( Lenovo Yoga 2, quad-core Bay Trail processor, 2GB RAM, HD resolution on 8 inch display) to test the new updates. I had been using the RTM build like everyone else and with the news of the latest Insider Preview build, I fired up Windows Update to get the download started.
My tablet is not the fastest in the world (which is why it gives a lot of battery life) so the update process took a long time. The first thing I after the update was to delete the installation files using Disk Cleanup tool to regain around 6GB of space.
Right off the bat, build 10525 is noticeably more responsive. Maybe it has something to do with compression storage or other optimisations in the build but I can open settings and other apps faster than before. Right click menus open quicker too. I did a non-scientific stress test by opening a ton of apps and noticed that the overall system was still more responsive than before where it would struggle with just a few apps. Here are screenshots of the apps I ran and how much memory they consumed:
The color option introduced in this new build is pretty interesting. It has to be enabled from the Settings > Personalization > Color by toggling the option ‘Show color on Start, taskbar and action center’ to on. You can then chose any color and see the change in the colors right away. It looks nice, however far too glossy in the title bars. Also, it works in some Modern UI apps and not all. Some already have title bar colors defined so they don’t change. Some apps like Edge also do not change the title bar colors so you get a mixed jumble of title bars where some apps respect your choice and some don’t.
Note: you can get the original Aero Glass effect in Windows 10 RTM build too.
I have yet to face any bug in the app and will list them as I test the build. Here are a few screenshots to show off the new color options in Windows 10 build 10525.
