Microsoft is releasing a new build from the development branch. Insiders who opted in to Skip Ahead are getting Windows 10 Build 18845. For a specific reason, this build is coming from the 20H1 development branch, and not from 19H2, as was expected. Let's see what's new in this release.

Usually, Microsoft releases two feature updates per year and tests them with participants of the Fast and Skip Ahead rings. According to Dona Sarkar, additional testing is required for builds from the 20H1 branch, so 18845 is a build released over a year before 20H1 is scheduled to RTM.

What’s New in Windows 10 Build 18845

Emoji 12.0 Update

With Build 18277, Insiders got their first look at the Emoji 12.0 emoji. In early February, the set of emoji to be included with Emoji 12.0 was finalized by Unicode, and with today’s build when you press WIN+(period) or WIN+(semicolon), all of these emoji now have keywords hooked up to make them easy to search for. Try it once you install the build! Keywords include otter, sloth, waffle, ballet shoes, and more.

If you haven’t tried it already, be sure to also check out our new Kaomoji and Symbols section in the picker – makes it super easy to type things like (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ or em dash!

General changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

• We fixed an issue which would cause the Bluetooth Hands-Free audio driver to hang.
• We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders not being able to access the Quests section of the Feedback Hub.
• We fixed an issue resulting in a decrease in Start menu reliability in the previous flight.
• We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge crashing on launch for some Insiders in the previous flight.
• We’ve made some small tweaks to make the help icon in File Explorer look a bit better when dark theme is enabled.
• We fixed an issue where in certain languages if you pressed WIN+V before having opted into clipboard history the clipboard history UI would be truncated.
• We fixed an issue with the new Adlam keyboard resulting in not being able to type certain common words.
• We fixed an issue where, when typing Vietnamese, the touch keyboard was auto-capitalizing every word in certain apps.
• We fixed an issue that could result in unexpected flickering if you used pen or touch in certain win32 apps to launch a second instance of the app when in tablet mode.
• We fixed an issue that could result in DWM crashing after enabling high contrast.
• We fixed an issue where, when friendly dates were enabled in File Explorer, in certain languages (such as Japanese and Chinese) Insiders would see the wrong day name displayed.
• We fixed an issue resulting in an unexpected and non-functional Family Safety icon in the notification area of the taskbar.
• We fixed an issue that could result in the taskbar search box text becoming black on a black background.
• We fixed an issue where Start menu would crash when using Narrator to navigate pinned folders in Start.

Known issues

• Launching games that use anti-cheat software may trigger a bugcheck (GSOD).
• Please note that while we’ve made some improvements to night light reliability in this flight, we’re continuing to investigate reported issues in this space.
• For display calibration scenarios, monitors may be missing in the built-in Color Management application. As a work around, please use the Settings app to select color profile instead, under the Display Settings page.
• Some Realtek SD card readers are not functioning properly. We are investigating the issue.
• In Windows Sandbox, if you try to navigate to the Narrator settings, Settings app crashes.
• Mouse pointer color might be incorrectly switched to white after signing out and signing back in.
• Creative X-Fi sound cards are not functioning properly. We are partnering with Creative to resolve this issue.

Known issues for Developers

• If you install any of the recent builds from the Skip Ahead and switch to either the Fast ring or the Slow ring, optional content such as enabling developer mode will fail. You will have to remain in the Fast ring to add/install/enable optional content. This is because optional content will only install on builds approved for specific rings.

Source: Microsoft