The largest of them is enhanced support for RAW image format. This is an area that has needed improvement for some time, so it’s excellent to see it addressed. For the unfamiliar, RAW images allow for greater adjustments in exposure, highlights, and shadows without destroying the quality of the image. Unfortunately, while RAW formats are very useful in Photoshop and Lightroom, they aren’t supported natively by Windows. That will change in 19H1 via a store-delivered Raw Image Extension package.
With this improvement, photographers will finally be able to see image thumbnails, previews, and camera metadata of all RAW file types. They’ll also benefit from full-res RAW viewing in Photos or other apps using the Windows Imaging Component.
Windows Light Theme and Other Fixes
One of the biggest changes coming in Windows 10 19H1 is the Light Theme. This will be a big turning point for the OS, so it’s no surprise Microsoft is working hard to perfect it. Build 18323 fixes a number of issues with the theme, from scrollbars to text, icons, and color changes. It should generally feel more polished. A number of unrelated bugs have also been remedied and improvements made, but there are too many to list. Here are some of the most important:
“Returned the Volume Mixer link in the volume button context menu to its October 2018 behavior. The new tamper protection setting in the Windows Security app protects your device by helping to prevent bad actors from tampering with the most important security settings. You may see a new recommendation in the Windows Security app suggesting you turn this setting on. Added Nearby Sharing to the list of default Focus Assist exceptions. Returned the IME and settings pages to the ones we shipped with the October 2018 Update. Settings header rollout update: This is now available across most regions for Insiders in Fast using Home edition and Pro editions of Windows that are not domain joined. Small app update: Thanks everyone who reached out about the grid alignment issue in the Calculator – this has been fixed with the 1812 version of the app. Fixed an issue resulting in running c:\windows\syswow64\regedit.exe not launching regedit in recent builds. Fixed an issue on certain devices that could sometimes result in the screen staying black on boot until CTRL + Alt + Del was pressed.”
As always, you can get a full list of changes in build 18323 on the Windows blog.
