Windows 10: now one update per year with new features

Microsoft is changing the pace of updates for Windows 10, now with a new “major” version that will arrive once a year. It has been twice a year so far (one update in the spring and another in the fall).

One “major” update per year for Windows 10

Here is what Microsoft announces on his blog Regarding annual updates for Windows 10:

We’ll be moving to a new Windows 10 release cadence to align with the Windows 11 cadence, with annual updates for new features. We are now renaming the service option for updates to “general availability channel” from the November 2021 update (note: this replaces the previous term of “semi-annual channel” for the service option) . The next Windows 10 update with new features is scheduled for the second half of 2022. We will continue to support at least one version of Windows 10 until October 14, 2025. As the second half of the calendar year, the Home and Pro editions of the November 2021 Update will get 18 months of service and support, and the Enterprise and Education editions will get 30 months of service and support starting today.

Microsoft’s commitment to future Windows 10 updates comes after the company was quiet about its plans when it presented Windows 11. It is still unclear what Microsoft will bring to Windows 10. in the future. The November 2021 update, available today, is very minor, with the only notable feature for users being GPU compute support in Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Microsoft has also already started rolling out the new Microsoft Store on Windows 10 earlier this month.

Note that there will always be regular security updates for Windows 10. The annual rate concerns versions with new features.