Microsoft on Wednesday announced its new Windows 10 preview build, which is pretty much routine work. But aside from detailing the fresh offerings of Build 19603, the software maker also introduced its new news aggregate feature.
Microsoft News Bar is a new feature for Windows 10 that aggregates stories from more than 4,000 publishers in the Microsoft News network. It's very similar to scrolling news apps we used to see in the '90s for Windows PCs, and it was developed by Microsoft's internal News team (formerly MSN News). You can try out its beta version today.
The News Bar is entirely different from the Microsoft News app. While the latter offers full-length news, the former is more like a news ticker that appears on a semi-persistent bar on the side of your screen. You have the option for the bar to be always visible or you can choose to hide it if you don't need it. Or, you can schedule it to reappear in either two or eight hours, depending on your mood.
The new feature is on beta, so it's pretty much not as comprehensive as you would want it. As of the moment, you can't really fully personalize it but you have the option to choose some stocks you always want to see. Microsoft says there will be updates over time, including sports and weather options, but it would be more interesting to at least get some sense of what is breaking news in the news bar.
Microsoft's blog says that the News Bar is currently available for people in the U.S. No word on when a global release has been indicated. You can check out Windows' Insider Program documentation here, including a list of all the new features and updates released in builds so far.
Meanwhile, there are reports that the Surface Neo, Microsoft's dual-screen PC that runs a new OS called Windows 10X, will have its launch date postponed. It was originally set for a holiday 2020 release. The company is said to have shifted its focus to get Windows 10X to run well on single-screen devices like laptops and 2-in-1s.
The good news is, the Surface Duo, Microsoft's dual-screen smartphone, won't be affected. Third-party foldable PCs and dual-screens, however, won't make it this year with Windows 10X. One example is Lenovo's ThinkPad X1 Fold, which could be a major setback for the form factor.
