And it’s all because of the 20H1 Windows 10 update

Mar 1, 2019 09:35 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft took everyone by surprise in February when it shipped a preview build of the Windows 10 update it wants to roll out in April 2020.

The company, however, explained that some of the improvements it plans to make in Windows 10 in the long term need more thorough testing, so it wants insiders to run these builds in advance and send feedback to the development team.

But as it turns out, the big goal is to bring Windows core and Azure in sync as part of a plan that was first announced last spring when the Windows engineering division moved to Azure.

Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet writes that this new push is specifically supposed to allow Microsoft to align Windows core platform releases, which typically go live internally in June and December, with OS updates.

Basically, each Windows 10 feature update is based on the previous core OS platform release, so for example, the upcoming April 2019 Update (19H1) runs on the December 2018 core OS version.

Enter Windows 10 20H1

Microsoft, however, will skip the June 2019 platform update and focus all of its efforts on the December version which will power the 20H1 Windows 10 update. This means the upcoming Windows 10 19H2 update won’t be a major release by any means, though according to the cited source, Microsoft is already planning some minor changes, along with backporting a number of improvements from 20H1.

Eventually, the fall of 2019 update “might appear like a more minor update, but only to those paying close attention,” the source notes.

Microsoft has no intention to give up on its typical release schedule that includes two different OS updates every year. Also, the software giant won’t switch to a new strategy with one minor release per year, as the 19H2 update is just an exception and only serves as the version making the transition to the new model.

For the time being, all eyes continue to be on the 19H1 update due in the spring, as Microsoft is expected to sign off the RTM later this month.