Windows 11 Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is moving the release schedule of Windows updates again. Shortly after committing to a feature update once a year, the company is now considering releasing one major update every three years with up to four smaller feature drops in between, according to a report by Windows Central.
The recent switch from a twice-yearly cadence to one major update was largely well-received, given the performance issues and bugs that often plagued previous versions. It also meant that IT administrators could relax a bit and worry about updating systems only once a year. Microsoft is now giving itself even more time to release “major” updates while delivering a steady stream of new features to the current version of Windows.
By stretching out the feature release schedule to every three years, Microsoft should have enough time to fix any issues before releasing an update that, say, causes printers to crash. The next release is reportedly scheduled for 2024, three years after the release of Windows 11. This means that the client update (codenamed) Sun Valley 3 will not happen next year as previously rumored.
Windows users may complain about the longer wait for major updates, but it’s important to emphasize that Microsoft intends to increase the rate of feature drops, or what a clever marketing team suggests renaming “Moments” (this term not yet in public use) . One of those moments happened earlier this year when Microsoft moved the weather widget to the taskbar.
The changes will reportedly begin with Windows 11 version 22H2, or Sun Valley 2, which will continue the release of new features outside of major operating system updates. Windows Central, citing unnamed sources, says Windows will release them every few months, up to four times, starting in 2023.
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It’s unclear whether the changes will apply to Windows 10. Bringing more features exclusively to Windows 11 could entice businesses and individuals to adopt the latest version of the operating system. At the same time, randomly pushing out updates can frustrate large corporations that manage huge fleets of laptops, tablets and desktops.
Hopefully Microsoft will clarify things if or when they decide to make this new issue system public. If the company only pushes out a major release every three years, what does that mean for support for certain versions of Windows? Will the next big update signal an entirely new operating system (Windows 12)? How are companies expected to keep up with the latest features?
Microsoft has yet to confirm the report, so nothing is set in stone. However, the company said in February that it was looking for new ways to release new features for Windows and had already made minor changes to its appearance through random updates.
While it sounds like a business nightmare, I personally hope this moves forward and gives developers the scheduling flexibility needed to release consistently stable updates – something Microsoft has failed to deliver in recent years.
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