With Windows 10 in 2015, Microsoft also introduced a servicing model for the operating system and announced plans to release feature updates two or three times a year.
This eventually evolved into two feature updates per year. Microsoft tried to soften the impact of two major Windows 10 updates by reserving the second for quality improvements. Windows 10’s second so-called feature update only improved the features that were added in the first update.
With Windows 11, Microsoft announced another major change to the service cadence. This time around, the tech giant said it would stick with “one major update per year” and continue to ship innovations through the monthly cumulative updates, as we’ve seen in the form of Moment 1 and Moment 2 updates.
Some theories suggest that Microsoft will not release Windows 11’s second feature update (version 23H2) in Fall 2023. That’s not true, as version 23H2 is still a thing, and we’ve already covered it in our previous reports . The tech giant has now confirmed this in a blog post published on February 28, 2023.
Microsoft noted that Windows 11 would continue to receive feature updates and the second update will be released in the second half of the calendar.
“Feature update releases are associated with a support lifecycle: 24 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 36 months for Enterprise and Education editions,” Microsoft noted.
Windows 11 23H2 is based on version 22H2, sources say
However, we must understand that Windows 11 23H2, which is coming in the fall, is not a new version of the operating system like version 22H2. Instead, Windows 11 23H2 is based on the Windows 11 22H2 platform and won’t change the operating system significantly, but you can expect several quality improvements.
Windows 11 22H2 is based on a platform update codenamed “Nickel”. On the other hand, the original release of Windows 11 version 23H2, which has been canceled in favor of Windows 12, is said to be based on the Zinc platform.
With Zinc dropped, Microsoft is moving to Germanium for next-generation Windows and plans to use the existing Nickel (22H2) platform for Windows 11 23H2. In other words, version 23H2 would be more about under-the-hood improvements than groundbreaking changes.
You can expect some useful bits and pieces, including a redesigned file explorer that was recently teased by Microsoft.
It’s possible that Microsoft plans to use a Windows 10 era-like activation package (a service pack-like update) that automatically turns version 22H2 into version 23H2 by enabling dormant features.
Microsoft will add things from version 23H2 to version 22H2, which can be enabled using that enable switch when the rollout starts later this year. This also means that Windows 11 22H2 and version 23H2 will receive the same cumulative updates.
