Yes there’s Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for IoT, too, here’s what’s new

Most media attention was focused on Microsoft shipping out the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update to consumers, but there is also an IoT version as well. The company today took to their Internet of Things blog to detail what’s new with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update for IoT.

Overall, Microsoft is giving IoT developers the necessary tools to put together the pieces and technologies “needed to make a full solution.” With the Fall Creators Update, Windows 10 IoT features Richer .NET API surface for UWP apps, Assigned Access in Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, updated language capabilities on Windows 10 IoT Core and user mode bus access on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise.

Here’s a deeper dive into a few of these features:

• Richer .NET API surface for UWP apps. The set of managed types that can be used to build Universal Windows Platform apps using C# or Visual Basic has been augmented with thousands of additional APIs to make it compliant with .NET Standard 2.0. These additional APIs and tooling in the Fall Creators Update make it much easier to port existing .NET code and libraries to UWP.
• We’ve improved ink support on Windows 10 IoT Core so that you can now utilize DirectInk APIs for highlighter, pencil, and vector-based ink. We’ve also added XAML ink controls for UWP, including InkCanvas and InkToolbar, which enable stencils like rulers and protractors. Multi-modal interactions such as simultaneous pen and touch are also now supported on compatible hardware.
• With the Fall Creators Update, we’ve expanded Assigned Access support to allow running multiple UWP and Win32 apps in a locked-down experience that can be configured from the cloud.
• We’ve updated language capabilities on Windows 10 IoT Core to support the following languages: Chinese (Simplified, China), English (United Kingdom), English (United States), French (France), French (Canada), Spanish (Spain, International Sort), Spanish (Mexico).
• Many IoT devices interact with other hardware devices or the physical world via standard buses like GPIO, I2C, SPI, and UART. We’ve enabled user mode bus access on Windows 10 IoT Enterprise through the Windows.Devices APIs, just like on Windows 10 IoT Core.

Also new are some enhancements for IoT point of sale solutions. Microsoft has extended support for controlling customer facing 2×20 line displays by enabling customization of the cursor style, brightness, blink rate, and character sets. The company is working to provide a preview of new Windows 10 IoT functionality that will allow developers to evaluate in development, while also looking to simplify the integration between Windows 10 IoT and Azure IoT.