Windows 11 marks a turning point for Microsoft as it seeks to clarify how it will distribute future updates to users.
When we reviewed Windows 11 last fall, one of our biggest concerns was that we would have to wait until the fall of 2022 to see any changes or improvements to its new UI:
In the remainder of this article, we will identify a sizable list of early problems with Windows 11. We can probably expect that bugs are fixed quickly.
But when it comes to bigger changes, like restoring lost functionality to the taskbar and taskbar, or continuing to modernize still unmodified parts of the UI, will we have to wait a year for that to happen?
Any design that changes as much as that of Windows 11 will benefit from a series of small and quick updates and changes to address the most common complaints and pain points. I hope Microsoft gives itself room to make these kinds of changes without having to wait until see you next year to implement them.
Almost a year later, it became completely clear that Microsoft isn’t holding back changes and new apps for the annual feature update of the operating system. A notable package of additions was released in February along with the commitment to “continuous innovation”.
Other minor updates before and after (not to mention the continuously updated Microsoft Edge browser) have also emphasized Microsoft’s commitment to release new Windows features whenever they’re ready.
It has been speculated that Microsoft may be planning another major shake up to the Windows update model, moving away from the annual updates that would be replaced by drops in functionality once a quarterpresumably called “Moments” internally.
These would be punctuated by larger Windows version updates every three years or so. As part of public relations on the Windows 11 2022 (also known as Windows 11 22H2) update, the company has made it clear that none of this is happening.
“Windows 11 will continue to have an annual feature update cadence, released in the second half of the calendar year which marks the beginning of the support lifecycle”, writes the vice president Microsoft John Cable.
“With 24 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 36 months of support for Enterprise and Education editions.” These updates will include their new features and changes.
Like the 2022 update, but you will also need to have the latest annual update installed to continue receiving additional feature updates via Windows Update and Microsoft Store.
Windows 11 will be around for a long time
As for the rumors about Windows 12, Microsoft simply said it “has no plans to share this info today”.
This position leaves the company plenty of room to change its plans tomorrow or any other day in the near future. But we can safely say that a new numbered version of Windows will certainly not be available very soon.
For minor changes that aren’t provided as part of an annual feature update or via a Microsoft Store update, Microsoft will use something called Controlled Feature Rollout (CFR) to test features with a subset of Windows users rather than rolling them out to everyone at once.
If you check Windows Update regularly (and of course you do, right?), You may occasionally see optional monthly preview updates that aren’t installed unless you manually turn them on.
The new features will be implemented first for people who install these optional updates. The following month, when that update ceases to be a“preview” and will generally become available, it will be sent to all Windows 11 PCs (barring crash bugs discovered during the preview phase).
The preview of the optional October update, for example, will add tabs to Windows File Explorer, so the non-optional November update will bring that functionality to anyone who hasn’t installed the preview.
There’s also a small change coming for Microsoft’s corporate and education customers, a risk-averse audience that cares more about keeping their systems up-to-date and operational than small changes to the Start menu and taskbar.
By default, the new features come in an annual update they will be disabled for Enterprise editions and Windows Education.
Administrators can enable these changes manually through Group Policy or mobile device management software if they wish.
But otherwise, the features will not be activated by default until the next annual Windows update is shipped.
Therefore, the features included in the 22H2 version of Windows 11 will not be enabled by default in the Education or Enterprise editions of Windows until a hypothetical 23H2 update; the features in the 23H2 update will be enabled by default in a hypothetical 24H2 update; and so on.
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