Playing with the new HoloLens gestures in Windows 10 Redstone 4

Not too long ago, Microsoft released the first preview build of Redstone 4 for HoloLens that brought with it a whole bunch of under the hood stuff for developers. Redstone 4 for HoloLens isn't huge on new features on the surface, but that's okay because Microsoft has made a lot of improvements to the overall user experience that makes for an excellent update.

The biggest change in Redstone 4 for HoloLens is the new gestures that allow you to more easily control windows and objects with your hands. In Redstone 1, moving objects and windows around required you to select a button that brought you to a dedicated move mode, which then allowed you to resize, and change the position of the app or object. In Redstone 4, this behavior has been replaced with the same behavior you can find on the desktop.

Now, you just tap and hold, and then begin to move. HoloLens is smart enough to recognize that you want to move the object, and lets you do just that. It's a huge improvement over the old method, which felt clunky and slow. This new system feels much more natural and familiar to the user.

The other big change in regards to moving things around is the ability to now use two hands to resize and rotate objects. As far as I can remember, this wasn't a thing in Redstone 1, again requiring you to enter a dedicated mode to resize windows and objects. In Redstone 4, just use both hands to grab an object, and resize or rotate apps and windows like you would in real life. It's so good.

There are, of course, lots of other little improvements, and since this is Redstone 4, it's sharing all the same up-to-date UWP APIs, meaning things like PWAs work on HoloLens now. You've also got the updated Settings app, new Photos app, and more. Make sure you give our hands-on video a watch to showcase a few of these new gestures and PWA support.

Zac Bowden
Senior Editor

Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter and Threads