14 DAY TRIAL // It’s mid-February and Microsoft is thus approaching the final development stages of Windows 10 April 2019 Update, also known as version 1903 or 19H1.
Just like its predecessors, this new update aligns with Microsoft’s release schedule that involves two major updates for Windows 10 every year, one of which ships in the spring, followed by a second one in the fall.
But the closer we get to the official release of Windows 10 April 2019 Update, the more hints we get as to how Microsoft sees the future of its operating system. And today, we’re going to discuss what we should expect from Windows 10 after version 1903 ships.
First and foremost, let’s review Microsoft’s typical Windows 10 feature update release schedule.
Basically, there are two different such updates shipping every year.
The spring update is typically finalized in March and then rolled out to production devices in April. The fall update is completed in September and then starts making its way to non-insider devices beginning with October.
In other words, the upcoming April 2019 Update, as its name suggests, will become available for users in April after the RTM is signed off in March. This means we’re just one month away from the moment the final build is supposed to be shipped to insiders in all rings.
Every time when Microsoft approaches the final development stage of a Windows 10 feature update, the company starts working on the next one with help from insiders in the Skip Ahead ring. In the meantime, all the other participants in the Windows Insider program continue to receive builds that help refine the experience with the update that’s about to be released.
I expect Microsoft to begin rolling out preview builds for the fall update sometime in late February or early March, though it’s worth noting that the company has more or less changed its approach recently. The Skip Ahead ring is now being used to test early builds of the April 2020 update, so the company will probably rely on the Fast ring to do all the hard work of testing the fall 2019 release.
Previous rumors indicated that Microsoft also planned a different approach regarding the codenames it uses for Windows 10 feature updates.
The upcoming fall 2019 update, which is most often referred to as 19H2, could be called internally Vanadium, while the spring 2020, codenamed by some 20H1, could be baptized Vibranium. More details on Microsoft’s Windows 10 codenames is available here.
If the same testing approach is being used, Microsoft could rely exclusively on the Skip Ahead ring to try out the next-next Windows 10 feature update in advance, though this could very well make things even more confusing for users in general, and insiders in particular.
Imagine that right now, Skip Ahead insiders are already running an update that’s projected to be released in approximately one year, so when the company will get ready to ship the fall 2019 update, they would technically be experimenting with features projected to go live in October 2020.
While it’s too early to discuss the features coming to users in these updates, it’s pretty clear the focus will be more on AI, touch, and cloud. This is the direction that Microsoft has already embraced for Windows 10 and I think the company won’t give up on this approach.
New form factors are also on their way, as it’s the case of Surface Andromeda which should technically run full Windows 10 and convert from tablet to laptop in a seamless way, so the operating system would have to adapt in order to power new categories of devices.
Overall, Windows 10 will improve at a much faster pace, and this could be good both and bad. While an operating system that’s improving significantly with every single feature update is what everyone needs, Microsoft must overhaul its testing work as well, especially because it would have less time for quality control before each release.
I believe this is what the company is trying to do right now by making April 2020 update preview builds available so early, so it remains to be seen how everything is going to work out in the next couple of years for the world’s number one desktop operating system.