Fast ring members of the Windows Insider Program can now install Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 16241. Like other recent builds, Microsoft seems to have focused on polishing existing features ahead of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update's release instead of introducing new ones. That's bound to help with the upcoming Bug Bash, too, during which the company and its customers will hunt for issues within the OS.
The most improvements came to Windows Mixed Reality. Microsoft said it added support for Mixed Reality Motion Controllers over USB--with "Wireless/Bluetooth support to come soon!"--and improved support for third-party USB controllers. Perhaps the motion controllers announced at Build will arrive sooner than later. Microsoft hinted at that in the Windows Insider flight notes for Preview Build 16241, where it said:
Getting ready to enable external developers with our new Motion Controller: in this flight, we are one step close to get external developers enabled to develop with our new Motion controller. More updates coming to this front soon.
The company also fixed Windows Mixed Reality bugs, "improved stability of the headset during your Mixed Reality session," and updated its "teleportation experience" to make it more "intuitive and direct." Microsoft seems to be preparing Windows Mixed Reality for prime-time--the updates in this build address hardware problems, fix the company's software, and give developers more tools for creating mixed reality apps.
Those aren't the only changes in Preview Build 16241. In Task Manager, the company redesigned its new GPU performance monitoring and changed how Microsoft Edge's processes are labeled. On the gaming side, Microsoft said it fixed issues that caused Game Bar to crash during broadcasting and prevented Xbox Live profile cards from working in-game. Delivery Optimization got new options and an activity monitor.
Preview Build 16241 has a few known issues, the most notable of which for gaming enthusiasts might be problems with EA's Origin overlay that "may cause game movement to lock up." Microsoft said that some apps--namely Tweetium--might be hard to use because they may render incorrectly. The full list of known issues within this preview build can be found in Microsoft's blog post announcing its release.
Microsoft also released a new preview build of Windows 10 for mobile devices. Here's a comprehensive list of its changes:
We fixed an issue where VPN profile appeared to be always ON.We fixed a notification issue between the Bluetooth Support Service and device background services for fitness bands.We fixed issues with Caller ID matching in Japan & Denmark.
Thrilling stuff.
Finally, Microsoft continued to hype the second and final Bug Bash for the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The event will run from 12am PT on July 14 to 11:59pm PT on July 21. Live webcasts will be held via Mixer, the company's live-streaming service, on 1:30pm-3pm PT on July 18 and 10am-11:30am PT on July 21. Keep an eye on Microsoft's blog and the Feedback Hub if you feel like squashing a few bugs.
