What you need to know
- Microsoft has announced the next feature update for Windows 10.
- It's a minor servicing style release just like 20H2.
- It'll release as version 21H1 this spring, with Insider testing starting today.
The next version of Windows 10 is now official, and it's coming this spring. Known as version 21H1, this release of Windows 10 will be a minor servicing style update that will sit on top of version 20H2. The release will focus on business orientated features and enhancements, and is rolling out in the Windows Insider Beta Channel today for testing.
21H1 features three notable improvements over 20H2, all of which are most beneficial to business customers. The first notable addition is multi-camera support with Windows Hello, which will allow PCs with build-in Hello capable webcams to use an external Hello peripheral when docked to a larger display.
Windows Defender Application Guard is also getting a handful of performance improvements that will optimize document opening scenario times, and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and Group Policy Service is getting support for remote work scenarios.
21H1 will continue the semi-annual feature update release cadence and will be supported for 18 months with servicing updates, just like previous H1 releases of Windows 10.
Build 19043.844 is now available in the Windows Insider Beta Channel for those who wish to begin testing 21H1 today. The update is expected to rollout this Spring, with my sources saying the update is currently targeting a May 2021 rollout.
Microsoft is also currently working on a much larger update for Windows 10, codenamed Sun Valley, that will introduce a rejuvenated UI design, new features, and updated in-box apps. This update is expected to launch at the end of this year as version 21H2, with testing commencing in the Windows Insider Dev Channel over the coming weeks and months.
What are your thoughts on 21H1? Let us know in the comments.
