

Windows 10 version 21H1 is following the standard timeline for a semi-annual feature update: it's available now for anyone in the Windows Insider Program's Beta channel. (For the record, this sounds like a specific ask from a corporate customer who pays enough in annual licensing fees to justify a custom feature request.)Īnyway, the upshot is that this is an extremely minor update, giving admins an unexpected breather until the next feature update is released in six months. How many Windows 10 installations, for example, have both an internal and external infrared camera used for Windows Hello biometric authentication and need a way to tell the system which camera to use? Not many at all. On PCs running version 1909 or earlier, you can expect the much longer installation time that comes with a full feature update.Īs for the "scoped set of features," that's a fancy way of saying that the handful of new features in this update are extremely obscure. You can find Windows 10 version information on this Settings page To check the current version on your PC, go to Settings > System > About and look under the Windows Specifications heading.

The entire thing will take two or three minutes to install, just long enough to increment the major build number from 19041 (version 2004) or 19042 (version 20H2) to 19043. If you're already running version 2004 or 20H2, this version will be delivered as a tiny update called an enablement package. Microsoft says version 21H1 consists of "a scoped set of features … delivered with servicing technology like that used for the monthly update process and how 20H2 was delivered."įor those who are baffled by that Redmond-speak, allow me to translate. Instead, it's similar in size and impact to the 20H2 release from the end of last year. Next for Windows 10: What to expect from the version 2004 updateīut version 21H1 has no significant new features.

Windows 10: My five favorite free utilities.It would be logical to expect this feature update to be packed with new capabilities, following the cadence that Microsoft established with its H1 releases in 20. Every six months, things change.Ĭase in point: The soon-to-be-released version 21H1. After six years of Windows 10's "software as a service" model, the one lesson PC admins have learned is not to get too comfortable with Microsoft's update rules.
