Windows Feature Experience Pack
| Component of Microsoft Windows | |
 | |
| Type | Feature package |
|---|---|
| Introduced in | Manganese, later backported to Windows 10 May 2020 Update |
Windows Feature Experience Pack is a feature package included with Microsoft Windows since the Manganese development semester.
History[edit | edit source]
Windows Feature Experience Pack was introduced in the Manganese development semester, with build 19536 being the first publicly released build to include it. Its resources were in C:\Windows\SystemApps\MicrosoftWindows.Client.CBS_cw5n1h2txyewy, and an "Experience" entry was added under Settings → System → About where the version number could be queried, which was updated along with almost every new build. However, there were no hints at the time about its functionality. In April 2020, it was backported to the Windows 10 May 2020 Update during its final stages of development, and following its release the month later, a Microsoft documentation about Features-on-Demand was updated to include Feature Experience Pack, stating that the package includes features critical to Windows functionality and that it should not be removed.[1] These public Feature Experience Pack builds also received updates, although less frequently.
The first time Microsoft publicly talked about Feature Experience Pack was in November 2020, when it was announced that it was intended to become a new method of releasing and enhancing Windows features outside from OS updates, and that eventually it would be incorporated to the existing servicing process through Windows Update. Along with this announcement, the first preview build to run under this test was released to Windows Insiders on the Beta Channel. Due to the scoped set of components that public releases included at the time, changes in this update were minimal. Like monthly servicing updates, more builds from this type were released near the end of each month while expanding the experiment to the Release Preview Channel.
During Windows 10X development and the release of its three Public Previews prior to its cancellation, three desktop Feature Experience Pack builds were also included in them. Instead of having an Experience entry in About Settings, they appeared as applications on the Apps section where the version number was also displayed.
Included components[edit | edit source]
Windows Feature Experience Pack is currently confirmed to have the following components:
- Snip & Sketch, including its shell-integrated snipping interface
- A new input panel
- An updated shell-suggestion UI
- Windows 10X's Files app.
