How will Microsoft name the next big Windows 10 update?
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Microsoft took many Windows 10 fans by surprise when it decided to delay the Spring Creator Update release due to a severe bug. Most likely, the company will soon roll out a new Windows 10 build in order to test the hotfix for the respective bug. It is still unclear whether Microsoft will push a new RTM build or keep the one it already sent to OEMs — although the first variant seems more plausible.
Speaking of which, the name of the upcoming Windows 10 version in still shrouded in mystery. Leaked screenshots suggest it’s called ‘Spring Creators Update‘ although Microsoft has never confirmed this information. On the other hand, many use the code name ‘Redstone 4‘.
To make things even more difficult to grasp, Microsoft refers to the first Spring Creators Update patch (KB41003750) as ‘Cumulative Update for Windows 10 Version Next‘. So, how will Microsoft name the next big Windows 10 update after all?
Microsoft needs to change its Windows 10 codename strategy
Let’s suppose that Microsoft will indeed use the ‘Spring Creators Update’ name for the upcoming OS version. The next question is: How will Microsoft name the update it’s going to release this one?
If the company continues to focus on the creative part, it really needs to find something better than Windows 10 Fall Creators Update since this name is already taken. Perhaps the company will introduce a different Windows 10 approach this fall and will give up the ‘Creators Update’ part. If it decides to focus on, let’s say Mixed Reality, then we’ll have the Windows 10 Mixed Reality Update.
How about the Redstone code name? How relevant is the Redstone code to users? Can you quickly associate a particular Redstone release with a specific Windows 10 version, launch date or a specific set of features?
Back in the good ol’ days of Windows XP or Windows 7, the upgrade to a new OS version represented an important revamp and added a plethora of new features. Nowadays, Microsoft has moved Windows 10 to a servicing model which means that updates are deployed more frequently but the difference between two consecutive OS versions are no longer that important.
Maybe this explains why Microsoft decided to use similar names for its Windows 10 versions. The difference between various OS versions is not that big anymore, so there’s no need to use a completely different name.
On the other hand, there are some rumors that suggest Microsoft is going to ditch codename Redstone in favor of a new format. The new codename includes the year when the update was released and code H1 or H2, depending if the version was released in the first or second half of the year. In other words, the Windows 10 version that Microsoft will release next spring could well be called Windows 10 19H1.
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Focusing on two main codenames
Obviously, Microosft creates all these codenames for internal testing purposes only. They help Insiders differentiate between the various build versions they test.
As far as regular users are concerned, we believe that new OS versions will share a common name: ‘the next Windows 10 update’. Regular users really don’t need complicated technical code-like names. After all, most Windows 10 updates are rather cosmetic improvements, so as stated above, there’s no need for Microsoft to use completely different names. Basically, they’re rolling out the same OS skeleton adding a few new features and many visual improvements.
So, if there’s not a major difference between Windows 10 versions, ‘the next Windows 10 update’ codename perfectly sums up the update. In other words: Microsoft is going to launch a new Windows 10 update, one of many to come.
So, what’s your take on Microsoft’s Windows 10 codenaming strategy? Do you think that a Windows 10.1, Windows 10.2, Windows 10.3 version would have been better? Let us know in the comments below.
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