Windows 10: Windows 10 20H2 update later this year will be minor

Microsoft revealed yesterday that the next feature update for the company's Windows 10 operating system will be called Windows 10 20H2 and that it will be a minor update just like Windows 10 version 1909.

Just like Windows 10 version 1909, Windows 10 20H2 will be delivered "in an optimized way" using servicing technology. In other words, it installs like a regular cumulative update on devices running Windows 10 version 2004.

When Microsoft published Windows 10 version 1909 it stated that future updates would not be similar to the minor feature update, but it changed the strategy soon thereafter.

Devices that run an older version of Windows 10 can't be upgraded this way, a full installation is required to bring Windows 10 20H2 to these devices.



Microsoft selected a naming scheme for this and future Windows 10 feature updates to "provide consistency" across releases. All feature updates for Windows 10 will use the naming scheme Year-H-1/2, e.g. 20H2 for the second feature update of 2020, or 21H1 for the first feature update of 2021.

The company will keep on using friendly names, e.g May 2020 Update, as well in "consumer communications".

Windows 10 version 20H2 is a minor update and as such, is smaller in scope. Microsoft does note that it will be the first version of Windows 10 to come with the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser installed, and that it will "offer a scoped set of features to improve performance and quality".

Support for the consumer Windows 10 versions 1809 and 1903 will run out in late 2020. Enterprise customers get 30 months of support for each Windows 10 feature update that gets released in the second half of the year. The upcoming Windows 10 version 20H2 will be no exception to that.

Closing Words


Microsoft's rapid pace of delivering two feature updates per year in the past has raised criticism both from consumers and Enterprise administrators. While it has been possible to skip a feature update, e.g. only install the second feature update of each year on Enterprise devices, or even less, staying recent has been a strenuous process.

The switch to releasing one full feature update per year and a minor update in the second half makes the whole process more manageable thanks to the quick installation of the second update and the lack of changes that it comes with.

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Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

• Open a new Explorer window.
• Click View in the ribbon.
• Click Options.
• Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”
• Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

 

10 + Years on TPU? Wow...

Minor edit suggestion made

 

A minor Windows 10 update every year?

Microsoft promises to continue refining Windows 10 even after it launches the OS moving to a more service oriented model, delivering smaller pockets of features over time when they are ready.

What does Windows as a Service entail?

Since the introduction of Windows Update as part of Windows, Microsoft has delivered updates as way to keep Windows updated and secure. This has always been the way the company keeps commercial versions of Windows on the market current.

With Windows 10, Microsoft is making significant changes to this model by delivering new methods of servicing Windows. Taking into account we now live in a mobile, constantly connected world, where threats happen all the time. Part of the solution to this
is to keep users current by providing the latest updates as soon as they are available in addition to delivering features as soon as they ready too.

Microsoft will do this using three types of service branches for Windows 10:

Service Branch

Options

Edition

Current Branch

• Security Updates, Features and Fixes are automatically applied.
• There is no option to delay or customize these updates.

• Windows 10 Home

Current Branch for Business (CBB)

• CBB includes the requirements of the Current Branch, but also provides the option of customizing when and which Security Updates, Features and Fixes are applied, similar to how Windows Update works today in current versions of Windows.
• Updates cannot be deferred indefinitely.
• Windows Updates can be managed using enterprise management tools such as Windows Update for Business and/ WSUS.

• Windows 10 Pro
• Windows 10 Enterprise
• Windows 10 Education

Long Term Servicing Branch (LTSB)

• Only available to volume license customers running Windows 10 Enterprise.
• Flexible options for managing Windows Updates.
• Windows Updates can be customized to only accept Security Fixes.
• Windows Updates can be managed using enterprise management tools such as Windows Update for Business and/ WSUS.

• Windows 10 Enterprise