Microsoft has started to release Windows 10 2020 (branch 20H1) Insider Preview Build 18990 to those in the Fast ring. The Windows maker released a build for Insiders in the Release Preview ring last night. As a reminder, Insiders in the Fast ring are testing the 2020 version while the Slow and Release Preview rings are currently testing the upcoming Windows 10 1909 aka the October 2019 Update slated to be released in the next few weeks.

Today's Windows 10 2020 build 18990 brings a long list of general fixes and improvements, but here are the new features arriving today to the Fast ring.

Windows 10 2020 build 18990: enabling automatic restart for UWP apps

Last month,we introduced a new separate settingto control ifregistered desktop appsfrom your previous sign-in session are restarted when signing back in to Windows. In the latest Insider Preview builds, in addition to registered desktop apps, when you opt into this setting, the majority of open UWP apps are now also automatically restarted as well! To reduce sign-in time, UWP apps are restarted minimized, in a suspended state, giving Windows and other apps more resources to get started. To try it out:

Go to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options and turn on “Automatically save my restartable apps when I sign out and restart them after I sign in.” under “Restart apps”.Start one or more UWP apps, such as Feedback Hub.Sign out and then sign back into Windows.

UWP apps that were started, such as Feedback Hub, should restart minimized with a taskbar button.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) improvements

Improved the performance for directory listings in \\wsl$[WSL2] Injected additional boot entropy [Github Issue 4461][WSL2] Fixed Windows interop when using su / sudo commands [Github issue 4465]

For the full details of changes in this latest Insider Preview build, please see theWSL release notes.

You can check out the complete list of general fixes, improvements and known issues over at the official blog post.

Earlier today, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 is now running on over 900 million active devices worldwide. As Windows 7 will stop receiving support from Microsoft in January 2020, more and more users are now rushing to upgrade their devices. As reported earlier, while the company no longer advertises its free upgrade offer, it continues to work.

- Here is how to install the latest operating system and upgrade your Windows 7 machines for free.