In April, we announced control, quality and transparency enhancements to the Windows 10 update experience. These enhancements were primarily for devices connected to and managed by Windows Update.
Today, we are sharing the first information about the next feature update for Windows 10 (internal code name: 19H2) and a new update option that will be available to devices running Windows 10, version 1903. 19H2 will be a scoped release with a smaller set of enhancements focused primarily on select performance improvements, enterprise features, and quality enhancements.
Given this limited scope, we will deliver the 19H2 release in a new way to devices running Windows 10, version 1903, leveraging servicing technology like that used for the monthly quality updates when you choose to update.
For commercial customers, here is the impact:
- If devices in your environment are running Windows 10, version 1903, you can take advantage of this new servicing option to update from Windows 10, version 1903 to 19H2 and benefit from a reduced file size and faster installation time.
- For those devices in your environment running Windows 10, version 1809 or earlier versions of Windows 10, the update process will remain unchanged. You will have the option to update to 19H2 just as you did with previous releases.
- As a September-targeted release, 19H2 will be serviced for 30 months[*] for those devices running Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education editions.
Further, if devices in your environment are on any currently supported version of Windows 10, only one reboot will be required to update those devices to 19H2. Correction 2019-09-10: Only one reboot is needed to update devices running Windows 10, version 1903 to 19H2. For devices running previous supported versions of Windows 10, more than one reboot may be required (same as previous OS upgrades).
Starting today, we will begin releasing 19H2 as a Windows 10 Insider Preview Build to Windows Insiders in the Slow ring. Windows Insiders who have opted into the Fast ring have been providing feedback on 20H1 builds from our development branch since February 14. As we are using a controlled feature rollout (CFR) to gain better feedback on overall build quality, you may not see the new 19H2 features right away. For the latest details on Windows 10 Insider Preview Builds, see the Windows Blog.
We look forward to delivering continued enhancements to the Windows 10 update process that will make it easier for organizations of all sizes to deploy and stay up to date with the latest feature updates.
[*] Reminder: While currently supported releases of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 Education (e.g. versions 1703, 1709, and 1803) will be serviced for 30 months from their original release date, per the Modern Lifecycle Policy, Windows 10, version 1903 and future March-targeted releases will be serviced for 18 months for all editions. For more information, see the Microsoft 365 blog and the Windows lifecycle fact sheet.
