VMware have released a new version of VMware Horizon 7.9 this is a major release and is for now GA 3th July 2019

VMware have made some huge improvements in this release, which customers/partners are going to benefit from. I highly recommend you read my big overview so you can read why you should upgrade to latest release.

What is new in VMware Horizon 7.9

VMware Horizon 7.9 provides the following new features and enhancements

• Horizon Connection Server On-Premises
• Horizon Agent for Linux
• Horizon Agent for Windows
• Horizon GPO Bundle
• Horizon 7 Cloud Connector
• Horizon 7 Deployed on VMware Cloud on AWS
• VMware User Environment Manager 9.8
• VMware Unified Access Gateway 3.6
• VMware AppVolume 2.17
• Horizon Clients for Android, Chrome, Linux, iOS, Mac, Windows, UWP

Horizon Connection Server On-Premises

The VMware Horizon 7 version 7.9 release includes many new features and enhancements to Horizon Connection Server and Horizon Agent including continuing to build on the feature parity of Horizon Console, the HTML5-based web console that will eventually replace Horizon Administrator.

• Horizon Console (HTML5-based Web Interface)
  There are several enhancements to Horizon Console. These include: 
  • Add, edit, or remove an instant-clone domain administrator.
  • View the number of published desktop sessions for farms or registered machines.
  • Configure event reporting and monitor events.
  • Monitor published desktop and application sessions.
  • Configure smart card authentication. 
  • Perform enhanced role-based delegated administration including privileges and roles for custom roles in Horizon Console.
  • The Horizon Console user interface contains updated icons.
  • View the image, pending image, and task columns for an RDS host for a farm.
  • Configure the multi-session mode feature for published applications.
  • Configure global settings that affect client sessions and connections and set global security settings for client sessions and connections in Horizon Console.
  • Select whether and when to refresh the OS disks when creating an instant-clone desktop pool.
  • Determine whether to allow ESXi hosts to reclaim unused disk space on instant clones that are created in space-efficient disk format when creating an instant-clone desktop pool. The space reclamation feature reduces the total storage space required for instant clone desktops.
  • Publish and launch Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications.
  • Change or remove the icon of a published application.
• Horizon Administrator
  • You can use Horizon Administrator to configure additional options such as “Always”, “Log to file on error (default)”, and “Never” to enable event log messages to be generated and stored in Syslog format in log files. These options are not available in Horizon Console.
• Cloud Pod Architecture 
  • The Home Site Override tab is separated from the Users and Groups tab in Horizon Console. To configure a home site override in Horizon Console in Horizon 7 version 7.9, select Inventory > Global Entitlements, select the name of the global entitlement to associate with the home site, and click the Home Site Override tab.
  • You can use the Search Sessions feature in Horizon Console to view desktop and application sessions across the pod federation.
• Published Desktops and Applications
  • You can publish and launch Universal Windows Platform (UWP) applications.
• Virtual Desktops
  • When creating an instant clone, you can select whether and when to refresh the OS disks.
  • When creating an instant clone, you can determine whether to allow ESXi hosts to reclaim unused disk space on instant clones that are created in space-efficient disk format. The space reclamation feature reduces the total storage space required for instant clone desktops.

Horizon Agent for Linux

• Expanded OS support for smart card redirection
  Smart card redirection allows client users to authenticate into a Linux desktop using a smart card reader connected to the client system. Horizon 7 version 7.9 supports smart card redirection on Linux desktops running the following distributions: 
  • Ubuntu 18.04
  • Ubuntu 16.04
  • SLED 12 SP3
  • SLES 12 SP3
  • SLED 11 SP4
• Enhanced system performance with single-thread architecture for user sessions
  Beginning with version 7.9, Horizon Agent for Linux features a Java NIO solution that uses a single thread to handle all connection sessions to the desktop. Previous versions opened a separate thread for each session. The new single-thread architecture improves performance by reducing the use of system resources. 

Horizon Agent for Windows

• Remoting ProtocolsHorizon 7 version 7.9 is required to support Microsoft Media Server (MMS) and Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
  NVIDIA Tesla T4 GPUs are now validated and supported with Horizon 7 across Windows 10 VDI, Windows Server 2016 and 2019. Blast Extreme can offload H.264, H.265, and graphics to the T4 GPUs.
  Blast log files rotation has been improved to take up less disk space and reduce production issues.
  Remote ExperienceMicrosoft Teams application has been validated and works with Real-Time Audio-Video. For a good experience, you need a minimum setting of 4vCPU 4GB RAM as a published desktop configuration and RTAV video resolution configured with 640 x 480p.
  You can redirect biometric devices, specifically fingerprint scanners, that are plugged into a USB port on a Windows client system, to virtual desktops.
  You can redirect card readers that are plugged into a USB port over PCoIP virtual channel on a Windows client system to virtual desktops.
  Several enhancements have been made to VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business. These include: Proxy support for Win 7 Clients
  Improved audio quality in fallback mode for RDSH 2016 and 2019 terminal service sessions
  Support for Skype for Business 2019 Server
  Support for Mac Client IPV6
  VMware Integrated Printing supports more Universal Print Driver (UPD) print settings for redirected UPD printers from Windows client machines.
  You can use VMware Integrated Printing with Horizon Client 5.1 for Linux and Horizon Client 5.1 for Mac.
  The following Wacom signature pads are supported in this release: Wacom STU-520A
  Wacom STU-530G
  Wacom STU-500
  Wacom DTU-1031
  Wacom Intuos Pro
  Updated Windows display specifications require Windows 10 version 1803 or later for six monitor support.
  Windows 10 notifications can be redirected to the client in an application session.
  You can use HTML5 Multimedia Redirection with Horizon Client 5.1 for Linux.

Horizon GPO Bundle

• The VMware View Agent Configuration ADMX template file (vdm_agent.admx) contains a new VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business group policy setting, Disable extended filter for acoustic echo cancellation in VMware Virtualization Pack for Skype for Business.
  The VMware Horizon Client Drive Redirection ADMX template file (vdm_agent_cdr.admx) contains two new Device Filtering group policy settings, Exclude Vid/Pid Device and Include Vid/Pid Device. You can use these settings to exclude or include devices that have specific vendor and product IDs when users use the client drive redirection feature.
  The Horizon PCoIP ADMX template file (pcoip.admx) and VMware Blast ADMX template file (vdm_blast.admx) contain two new group policy settings, Configure drag and drop formats and Configure drag and drop size threshold, to configure drag and drop behavior.

Horizon 7 Cloud Connector

This is a required component for Horizon 7.9 and later to support the following new features:

• Subscription licenses as part of a Workspace One Enterprise bundle. See the Horizon 7 Installation guide on the Horizon 7 Documentation page.
• Cloud Monitoring Services (CMS) features as part of Horizon Cloud Service. See the Horizon Cloud Administration Guide on the Horizon Cloud Service Documentation page. New CMS features include: 
  • Report for users, applications, desktop, and utilization for cloud-connected Horizon 7 pods
  • 7-day session history for the Help Desk Tool
  • Horizon cloud-connected session metrics and health status

Horizon 7 Deployed on VMware Cloud on AWS

• Manual desktop pools are now supported for vSphere virtual machines running Windows or Linux.
• Horizon 7 suppports the use of SDDC1.7.
• Horizon 7 supports the use of the following AWS services: 
  • AWS Directory Service for Microsoft Active Directory 
  • Events database on the Amazon Relational Database Service
• For a list of Horizon 7 features supported on VMware Cloud on AWS, see the VMware Knowledge Base article 58539.

VMware User Environment Manager 9.8

• Additional Horizon Smart Policies. Several Horizon Smart Policies are newly available. 
  • Audio playback
  • Drag and drop
  • Blast Extreme Protocol: H.264, H.264 high color accuracy, H.264 minimum quality, HEVC/H.265, JPG, and Max frame rate
• Additional options/choices in the Blast/PCoIP Endpoint Platform condition.
  • Chrome ARC++
  • Chrome Native
• New regular expression support for conditions. Applicable conditions allow you to configure regular expressions using the Matches regex option.
• Additional Windows Support. Windows 10 Version 1903 (May 2019 Update).

VMware Unified Access Gateway 3.6

VMware Unified Access Gateway 3.6 provides the following new features and enhancements:

• Secure Email Gateway (SEG) integration with Unified Access Gateway
• Unified Access Gateway support for RADIUS authorization restriction based on the class attribute
• Support public keys for validation of JSON web tokens.
• NTP servers for network time protocol synchronization.
• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) support to collect system statistics, memory, and VMware Tunnel server MIB information by Unified Access Gateway.
• REST API and Admin UI support to add, modify, and delete static routes.

VMware AppVolume 2.17

The VMware App Volumes 2.17 release includes the following new features, updates, and bug fixes.

• Support for Windows 10 1903
• App Volumes Manager can now communicate to SQL Server using TLS 1.2 protocol.
• App Volumes API reference documentation is available on VMWare {code}.

Supported versions of Windows 10 on Horizon Agent Including All VDI Clones (Full Clones, Instant Clones, and Linked Clones on Horizon 7)

• Windows 10 1607 LTSB (Enterprise)
• Windows 10 1703 CBB, Semi-Annual (Enterprise, Professional, Education)
• Windows 10 1803
• Windows 10 1809
• Windows 10 1903

Supported Windows 10 versions for Horizon Agent 7.9

#pending update

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 – new features

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Android

What’s New in This Release

• 64-bit Android support
  You can install Horizon Client for Android on ARM64 and x86_64 Android devices.
• Derived credentials on a Chromebook
  You can create a virtual smart card to use when you log in to a server and connect to a remote desktop from a Chromebook. See Create a Virtual Smart Card.
• IPv6 support on a Chromebook
  With Horizon 7 version 7.9, you can use Horizon Client 5.1 for Android on a Chromebook in an IPv6 environment.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Chrome

What’s New in This Release

• Workspace ONE support
  Users can start remote desktops and published applications from Horizon Client for Chrome in VMware Workspace ONE.
• Seamless Windows support
  You can now interact with a remote desktop or published application as if it were running locally. For example, the sidebar has been removed, a top menu bar has been added to the remote desktop window, and the file transfer feature has been improved.
• Manage monitor settings in the Google Admin console 
  Administrators can use the Google Admin console to enable or disable the multiple-monitor and High Resolution Mode features for specific Connection Server instances. See Using the Google Admin Console to Configure Enrolled Chromebook Devices.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for iOS

What’s New in This Release

There are no new features in this release.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Mac

What’s New in This Release

• Device filter support in client drive redirection
  An administrator can include or exclude folders on devices that have specified vendor and product IDs from being redirected by using the Include Vid/Pid Device and Exclude Vid/Pid Device agent group policy settings. This feature requires Horizon Agent 7.9. See Client Drive Redirection Policy Settings.
• CryptoTokenKit smart card driver support
  For CAC and PIV cards, Horizon Client for Mac now uses the CryptoTokenKit smart card driver by default and you do not need to install any middleware. To use a third-party smart card driver, you must disable the CryptoTokenKit smart card driver. See Smart Card Authentication Requirements.
• Enhanced drag and drop features
  Users can drag and drop files, folders, text, rich text, and images between the client system and remote desktops and published applications. The enhanced drag and drop features require Horizon Agent 7.9. A Horizon administrator can use group policy settings or Smart Policies to configure drag and drop behavior. See Dragging and Dropping.
• VMware Integrated Printing feature 
  Users can use the VMware Integrated Printing feature to print to a network printer or a locally attached printer from a remote desktop or published application. This feature requires Horizon Agent 7.9. See Printing From a Remote Desktop or Published Application.
• Select specific monitors for published applications
  In a multiple-monitor configuration, users can select the monitors on which to display published application windows. See Select Specific Monitors to Display Published Applications.
• Metal support 
  Horizon Client for Mac now uses Metal instead of OpenGL to render remote desktops and published applications.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Linux

What’s New in This Release

• VMware Integrated Printing feature 
  Users can use the VMware Integrated Printing feature to print to a network printer or a locally attached printer from a remote desktop. This feature requires Horizon Agent 7.9.
• Improved performance with Lightweight Protocol Client
  Horizon Client now uses the Lightweight Protocol Client driver for rendering and other data handling processes. The Lightweight Protocol Client delivers improved system performance and replaces the RMKS client protocol driver used in earlier versions of Horizon Client. Log files that previously displayed “RMKS” entries now display “VIEWCLIENT” entries instead.
• Command-line support for RSA SecurID and RADIUS authentication
  The vmware-view command-line interface supports user login through RSA SecurID or RADIUS authentication, without requiring user interaction in Horizon Client. Users can enter their RSA SecurID or RADIUS credentials by invoking the –tokenUserName and –passcode command-line options. 
• Select specific monitors for published applications
  In a multiple-monitor configuration, users can select the monitors on which to display published application windows.
• Expanded support for serial port redirection
  Serial port redirection is now supported for Windows 7 and Windows 10 virtual desktops that have Horizon Agent 7.9 installed with the Serial Port Redirection option enabled. In addition, the PCoIP protocol is now fully validated and supported for serial port redirection.
• Support for HTML5 Multimedia Redirection
  Horizon Client for Linux now supports the redirection of multimedia content to the client system from a Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser running in a remote desktop. This redirection reduces the load on the ESXi host and improves the audio and video experience for the user.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Windows

What’s New in This Release

• Enhanced drag and drop features
  Users can drag and drop text, rich text, HTML, images, and file contents between the client system and remote desktops and published applications. The enhanced drag and drop features require Horizon Agent 7.9. A Horizon administrator can use group policy settings or Smart Policies to configure drag and drop behavior. See Dragging and Dropping.
• Install desktop and application shortcuts when Horizon Client starts
  A new vmware-view command-line option, -installShortcutsThenQuit, enables you to install desktop and application shortcuts that are configured on the server when you start Horizon Client. When you use this command-line option, Horizon Client connects to the server silently, installs the shortcuts, and then quits. See Horizon Client Command Use.
• Windows 10 Education support
  You can install Horizon Client for Windows on a client system that is running the Education edition of Windows 10.
• Serial port redirection support in nested mode
  Serial port redirection is now supported in nested mode. See VMware Knowledge Base (KB) article 67248, “VMware Horizon Guidelines for Nested Mode.”
• Device filtering with client drive redirection
  An administrator can include or exclude folders on devices that have specified vendor and product IDs from being redirected by using the Include Vid/Pid Device and Exclude Vid/Pid Device agent group policy settings. This feature requires Horizon Agent 7.9. See Client Drive Redirection Policy Settings.
• Multiple monitor support changes
  Updated Windows display specifications require Windows 10 version 1803 or later for six monitor support on Horizon 7 version 7.9 and later. See Supported Multiple Monitor Configurations.

VMware Horizon Client 5.1 for Windows 10 UWP

• Domain security changes
  When users log in to a Horizon 7 version 7.8 or later server from Horizon Client 5.1 for Windows 10 UWP, they might need to enter a domain in the User name text box, for example, domain\username or username@domain.com. Depending on the server configuration, the Domain drop-down menu might be hidden, or it might contain *DefaultDomain*. See Preparing Connection Server for Horizon Client.

Source

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Horizon-7/7.9/rn/horizon-79-view-release-notes.html