Windows 10 introduces the Game Bar, which provides screenshot and video capture functionality for Windows games. Games from the Xbox One can be streamed to any Windows 10 device excluding smartphones.
Windows 10 brings more updates to the Xbox app introduced in Windows 8. WDDM 2.0 introduces a new virtual memory management and allocation system to reduce workload on the kernel-mode driver. The performance gains achieved by allowing developers direct access to GPU resources is similar to other low-level rendering initiatives such as AMD's Mantle, Apple's Metal API or the OpenGL successor, Vulkan. Most of the performance improvements are achieved through low-level programming, which can reduce single- threaded CPU bottlenecking caused by abstraction through higher level APIs.
Unveiled March 2014 at GDC, DirectX 12 aims to provide " console-level efficiency" with "closer to the metal" access to hardware resources, and reduced CPU and graphics driver overhead. Windows 10 includes DirectX 12 alongside WDDM 2.0. Information can also be synchronized between versions of an app for different devices, such as notifications and licensing. An application may also react to the available displays and input on a device when connected to a monitor or a suitable docking station, a UWP app on a smartphone can take on the appearance of the app on a PC. UWP emphasizes a core set of APIs common to all variations of the operating system, enabling the ability to code a single application with adaptations (such as user interface differences) for different device families and states, including desktops and laptops, tablets, smartphones (via Windows 10 Mobile), Xbox One, and other new device classes such as Surface Hub and HoloLens.
Windows 10 introduced Universal Windows Platform (UWP), an extension of the Windows Runtime platform which was originally introduced with Windows 8. Since its release, Microsoft Edge has scored 402 out of 555 points on HTML5test. Microsoft Edge also includes a Share button on its toolbar where tapping or clicking on it will bring up the system Share panel, where users will be able to share a webpage to installed applications such as Reading List or third-party apps such as Facebook and Twitter.
A Reading List feature has also been added, where users can save articles or other content to be accessed and read later. Cortana has been integrated into Edge, accessible by the option "Ask Cortana" in the right click menu, as well as a Reading View and the ability to write notes directly on web pages and save to OneNote.
Microsoft Edge is the new browser for Windows 10 and is the successor to Internet Explorer 11, although Internet Explorer will remain for compatibility and legacy purposes. The Map app can download maps for offline use. The Settings app is expanded to have similar functionality as the Control Panel, albeit with a Metro-style user interface. Google Calendar support is added to the Calendar app. The Mail app adds user-configurable swipe gesture controls and POP3 email support.
New feature indicated for this release are only those added since Windows 8.1 Update 1, released in April 2014. The Threshold 1 release of Windows 10 is only supported for users of the Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB).
The final release was made available to Windows Insiders on July 15, 2015, followed by a public release on Jas a free upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. " Threshold 1" was announced on an event on Septemwith a first preview following the day after. While the build itself doesn't contain the version number, Microsoft retroactively named this version 1507, standing for July 2015 and matching the versioning scheme for later updates. Windows 10, codenamed " Threshold 1", is the first release of Windows 10.