Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18894 Arrives

No, there are no tabs, but the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview build brings File Explorer improvements.

“Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18894 (20H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring,” Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar announces.

Unlike the previous build, which curiously did not contain a single new feature, this new build brings what appears to be the most substantive change to File Explorer in years, assuming you don’t believe that a new icon is substantive.

“Over the next few days we’ll be starting to roll out a new File Explorer search experience – now powered by Windows Search,” Ms. Sarkar explains. “This change will help integrate your OneDrive content online with the traditional indexed results. This rollout will start with a small percent, and then we’ll increase the rollout to more Insiders as we validate the quality of the experience.”

Ignoring for now the terrible pointlessness of this A/B testing, it appears that the new Windows Search integration in File Explorer will trigger a drop-down in the search box with dynamic suggestions as you type. This looks like it will work like similar interfaces that users are all familiar with. But in a nice twist, a most-recent list of previous searches will also appear when you select the search box.

This build also includes a few accessibility updates and arrives with the usual batches of general changes, improvements, and fixes, and known issues.