Windows 10’s days are numbered. The operating system will reach end of support on October 14th of this year, giving users less than 10 months to upgrade their systems, buy new PCs, committing to use unsupported devices, or swapping to a different platform. Microsoft has shared warnings, blog posts, and all sorts of prompts about the end of Windows 10 support. The tech giant has also done something rather strange, begin testing a new feature for Windows 10.
That’s right folks, the operating system marching toward its end will receive a new feature, assuming testing goes well. Microsoft rolled out a new calendar feature within the taskbar of Windows 10 to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel recently. The addition shows the weather forecast within the calendar taskbar flyout on Windows 10.
The calendar flyout on Windows 10 is already more functional than its equivalent on Windows 11, something highlighted by the fact that an app like Calendar Flyout needs to exist. Soon, the feature on Windows 10 will be even better than the flyout on Windows 11. The change was flagged up by X user phantomofearth.
In this month’s episode of “Windows 10 keeps getting new features”: a rich calendar experience in the system tray, with holiday illustrations and weather forecasts – at the cost of a clock with seconds. (19045.5435) https://t.co/BSaRV5SaCc pic.twitter.com/cG0qtBBxDiJanuary 19, 2025
Technically, Microsoft rolled out two new features to Insiders in the Release Preview Channel, but I’d consider one of them a downgrade. The latest Insider build of Windows 10 includes the new Outlook. Microsoft recently stopped the Mail & Calendar app from working, making a replacement app necessary. That replacement comes in the form of the controversial new Outlook.
Earlier this month, we covered the fact that the new Outlook will be forced onto Windows 10 PCs, so we already know details about the change. An optional update on January 28, 2025 will install the new Outlook onto systems automatically. The monthly security update that will ship on February 11, 2025 will install the new Outlook onto more PCs.
👉 Read more: Microsoft is wrong: The new Outlook for Windows is not ready for prime time
I imagine people at Microsoft consider the new Outlook an upgrade, but that’s not an opinion held by many outside of the company. I suspect it’s not even an opinion held by everyone inside the company, but that’s just speculation.
I’ve seen people argue that since Mail & Calendar was free, it’s more acceptable for Microsoft to stop that app from working and replace it with something else. I disagree, but even if it were the case, Microsoft plans to replace the classic Outlook app with the new Outlook as well. That change just isn’t happening yet. Both situations will prove frustrating for those who dislike the new Outlook.
For now, I’ll focus on the new flyout feature for Windows 10 and the new Outlook rolling out to the soon-to-be-dead OS. Here’s Microsoft’s complete changelog for Windows 10 22H2 Build 19045.5435:
Windows 10: New features and improvements
- [Calendar] New! Stay informed and informed with the new calendar. See the weather forecast and learn about the holidays and events that are coming up.
- [Mail] New! You now have the new Outlook for Windows app as the free default mail app. A new app icon appears on the Start menu. If you have pinned the former mail app to the taskbar, the new icon replaces the pinned app icon.
- [GB18030-2022] This update adds support for this amendment.
- [Virtual memory] Fixed: An issue depletes virtual memory, which might cause some apps to fail.
- [Chinese Pinyin input method editor (IME)] Bing will stop giving automatic suggestions in the search box for search engine sites, like Baidu. To get manual suggestions, use Ctrl + Tab or the chevron button (>).
- [Near Field Communication (NFC) readers] Fixed: At times, they fail to read card Universal Unique Identifiers (UUID). This occurs after many point-of-sale (POS) app scans.
- [USB Print and IPP Over USB] Fixed: An installed printer fails when the spooler initializes.
- [Windows Kernel Vulnerable Driver Blocklist file (DriverSiPolicy.p7b)] This update adds to the list of drivers that are at risk for Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks.
- [Screen capture] Fixed: The Capture Service and Snipping Tool stop responding. This occurs when you press Windows logo key + Shift + S several times while Narrator is on.
