14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has only recently shipped Windows 10 version 20H2, but the company is already hard at work on preparing the operating system for the year 2021.
Just like before, the next-year lineup of Windows 10 feature updates will include two separate releases, one in the spring and another one in the fall.
Previously, Microsoft shipped major improvements in the spring release, while the fall update was focused more on under the hood optimizations and less on new features.
In 2021, however, the two feature updates will change places, so the spring update will be just a minor pack of improvements, while the fall sibling is the one bringing bigger changes.
And according to a report from WL, Microsoft is already working on Windows 10 version 21H2 (the one due in the fall of the next year), as the Windows team is currently internally testing build 21264.
On the other hand, there’s no public testing build for users out there in the Windows Insider program, though there’s a chance one such release will happen in early 2021.
Big changes coming in 2021
It’s obviously way too early to discuss the changes coming to Windows 10 in the 21H2 feature update, but rumor has it Microsoft wants to bring Android apps to the desktop without the need for the Your Phone app.
In other words, you’ll be able to install Android apps from the Microsoft Store and then run them on your PC, and it’s believed this feature could go live next year.
Other improvements expected in the fall update include a redesign UI with improvements for File Explorer, though at this point, it’s still not clear if Microsoft wants to update the file manager with tab support or not (this feature debuted a few years ago as part of Sets but was discontinued before it made it to production builds).