Microsoft releases first Windows Feature Experience Pack to Insiders

Microsoft took its first public steps to add the Windows Feature Experience Pack to Windows update.

What you need to know

• Microsoft released its first Windows Feature Experience Pack to Insiders.
• The Windows Feature Experience Pack allows Microsoft to improve features and experiences that are developed independently of Windows 10.
• The recent pack includes improvements to the screen snip feature and the touch keyboard on Windows 10.

Microsoft recently released the first Windows Feature Experience Pack update to Insiders. The pack allows Microsoft to improve features and experience that are developed independently of Windows 10. For now, Microsoft is only using the Windows Feature Experience Pack to update a small number of features, but it will likely expand over time.

This is the first time that Microsoft publicly discussed the Windows Feature Experience Pack. ZDNet reported on the Windows Feature Experience Pack earlier this year, but yesterday's blog post from Microsoft was the first time that the company talked about it publicly.

Microsoft has spent some time separating experiences from the Windows 10 update process. This allows Microsoft to update features independently from major OS updates. For example, the screen snipping feature on Windows 10 is among the first features to be updated as part of a Windows Feature Experience Pack.

Microsoft will test this new update process first through Windows Insiders, but it "[hopes] to expand the scope and the frequency of releases in the future." At some point in the future, the Windows Feature Experience Pack updates will get folded into Microsoft's servicing process for Windows 10 and roll out through Windows Update.

Yesterday, Microsoft released Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.107.0 to the Beta Channel. Here's everything that's new:

• Based on Insider feedback, you can now use the built-in screen snipping experience in Windows (WIN + SHIFT + S) to create a snip of your screen and paste it directly into a folder of your choice in File Explorer to save the screenshot there. Try it out!
• Using the touch keyboard in a portrait posture on a 2-in-1 touch device now supports split keyboard mode.

Windows Feature Experience Pack updates come out through Windows Update, just as normal builds and cumulative updates. If you're a Windows Insider on the Beta Channel, you can grab the first Windows Feature Experience Pack now.