What you need to know
- Microsoft has confirmed that the next major OS update coming this fall will be dubbed "Windows 11 version 24H2."
- This confirms that the next release won't be called Windows 12, as some had speculated.
- This next release will focus on next-gen AI experiences and quality of life improvements.
Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming Windows OS release expected this fall will be branded Windows 11, version 24H2, and not Windows 12 as some had previously speculated. The info was spotted in a recent Windows 11 preview build changelog, which confirms that this year's annual feature update will continue with the Windows 11 moniker:
"Starting with Build 26-xx today, Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to version 24H2. This denotes that Windows 11, version 24H2 will be this year’s annual feature update. As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year."
Many had speculated that this upcoming release, which will be based on a new version of the Windows platform called Germanium, would ship as a "Windows 12" due to the heavy focus on next-gen AI experiences that are expected to headline this release. However, Microsoft has now confirmed that this will not be the case.
This makes sense, as Microsoft doesn't want to further fragment the Windows userbase with a third in-market version. Additionally, releasing the fall update as another Windows 11 feature update means all Windows 11 users will be able to update to it easily.
I wrote about why I think the next release won't be Windows 12 in-depth last week, and now Microsoft has confirmed those suspicions. With that said, this doesn't mean the upcoming next version of Windows 11 won't be a big update. We're expecting lots of new AI features, as well as general quality of life improvements as well.
