Microsoft makes big changes to Windows updates — Report
Microsoft will only release major updates to the Windows client every three years, while launching small new features for the OS more frequently.
That is according to Windows Central senior editor, Zac Bowden, who has built up a reputation for accurately reporting insider developments regarding Microsoft’s plans for Windows in the past few years.
Sources at the company have told Bowden that Microsoft is shifting to a new engineering schedule, which will see it return to a more conventional three-year release cycle.
This comes only months after Microsoft announced it was moving from a bi-annual to a yearly release plan for new Windows versions.
The next major update for Windows 11, codenamed Sun Valley 3, will now only be rolled out in 2024, instead of 2023.
Fortunately, those eager for new features won’t have to wait that long.
According to Bowden, Microsoft intends to ship new features to the in-market version of Windows, currently Windows 11, up to four times a year, starting in 2023.
Internally dubbed “Moments”, these updates will pack a handful of features that have been tested by users in the Windows Insider Programme and are ready for official availability.
Previously, product teams had to wait for the yearly release of the new client version to roll out new features.
Bowden was upbeat about Microsoft’s revamped approach to Windows updates, which have been the subject of much scrutiny from users in recent years.
“Overall, these changes to the Windows roadmap are significant and will allow Microsoft to do big-bang new releases of the Windows client every few years like it has in the past, while also keeping the in-market version of Windows current with new features and changes that roll out to users on a regular and frequent basis,” he stated.
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