Windows 10 now has a strange specification named \u201cExperience.\u201d Standard desktop versions of Windows 10 say you have the \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack\u201d installed. What does that mean? Microsoft is being secretive as always, but here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another Windows 10 Mystery<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you head to Settings > System > About and scroll down to \u201cWindows specifications,\u201d you\u2019ll see a line named \u201cExperience.\u201d It likely says you have the \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack\u201d installed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This section also tells you what edition of Windows 10 you have installed, which update version you have installed, when it was installed, and your OS build number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know what all those mean\u2014but what is a \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, Microsoft won\u2019t explain it! Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley asked Microsoft about it and got a \u201cno comment\u201d from Microsoft. We think we can explain a lot of this anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Windows 10 Features Are Part of the Pack<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Foley points out, the Windows Feature Experience Pack is listed as one of many \u201cFeatures on Demand\u201d in Windows 10. For example, Microsoft Paint is now a \u201cfeature on demand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This particular feature comes preinstalled with Windows. Microsoft says it \u201cIncludes features critical to Windows functionality\u201d and says you should \u201cnot remove this package.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same documentation says the Windows Feature Experience Pack was first introduced in Windows 10 version 2004\u2014that\u2019s the May 2020 Update.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Foley, the pack currently includes features like a snipping tool for taking screenshots and a text input panel. Rather than being part of the base version of Windows 10 itself, these features are part of this \u201cpack\u201d that is preinstalled. Microsoft may move more features from Windows 10 itself to this \u201cfeatures on demand\u201d pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of these \u201cfeatures on demand\u201d are listed under Settings > Apps > Apps & features > Optional features, but the installed \u201cExperience Pack\u201d doesn\u2019t appear here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracking Down Clues in the Windows Store<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, why does this Feature Experience Pack even exist? Why not just leave these features in Windows 10 proper?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, Microsoft won\u2019t say, but we definitely have some ideas. Take a look at this: The Microsoft Store has a listing for a \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack\u201d and a separate \u201cWindows 10X Feature Experience Pack.\u201d This suggests two things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Faster Updates for Windows Components?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of the October 2020 Update, there\u2019s no indication this feature experience pack is being updated through the Store yet. However, it could be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Microsoft were updating the feature experience pack through the Store, the company could update the software inside the pack more often than once every six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anything moved from Windows to the pack\u2014perhaps a built-in application like File Explorer or a component like the Windows taskbar or Start menu\u2014could be updated much more quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Single OS For All Microsoft\u2019s Devices?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Microsoft is working hard on Windows 10X, which was going to be designed for dual-screen devices, but now looks like it will initially just be a more \u201cmodern\u201d version of Windows that confines traditional desktop applications to containers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These different versions of Windows could have the same underlying operating system and differ only in their \u201cFeature Experience Pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, this could help advance Microsoft\u2019s Windows Core OS goals: Having a single Windows core operating system that powers all devices, with different experiences installed on top of them. Imagine if a future Xbox could run Windows 10 with the \u201cXbox Feature Experience Pack,\u201d or a future Windows Phone could run Windows 10 with the \u201cWindows Phone Experience Pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hints About a Future, But No Use in the Present<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of Windows 10\u2019s October 2020 Update at the end of 2020, you should ignore the \u201cExperience\u201d line in the Settings screen and forget about the \u201cWindows Feature Experience\u201d for now. It doesn\u2019t really mean anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Its presence is an artifact of Microsoft\u2019s development process: The company is always experimenting internally, and signs of that experimentation are appearing in the released versions of Windows 10. This information may be important for Microsoft engineers who are experimenting and troubleshooting, but it doesn\u2019t mean anything to Windows users outside Microsoft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Windows 10 now has a strange specification named \u201cExperience.\u201d Standard desktop versions of Windows 10 say you have the \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack\u201d installed. What does that mean? Microsoft is being secretive as always, but here\u2019s what we know. Another Windows 10 Mystery If you head to Settings > System > About and scroll down … Continue reading “What Is the \u201cWindows Feature Experience Pack\u201d on Windows 10?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[93,2115],"class_list":["post-2812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-systems-and-procedures","tag-windows-10","tag-windows-feature-experience-pack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2813,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2812\/revisions\/2813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tech-battery.com\/batteriesblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}