Windows 10 21H2 Will Be Another Scoped Release Focusing On Polish

With the announcement of Windows 11, some people might presume that Microsoft will be focusing its efforts on Windows' next big installment, and they'd be right and wrong at the same time. Microsoft still has a commitment to service Windows 10 users, and not just with its usual security patches and bug fixes. In fact, the company just announced the existence of a Windows 10 21H2 feature update coming later this year. Don't expect big changes, though, as it will only have a scoped set of features delivered using "servicing technology."

What Microsoft means whenever it throws that "servicing technology" term around is that it will use the same delivery system that it uses for those regular maintenance updates. This means that the update should be minimally disruptive, even if you'd be required to reboot anyway. It also means there shouldn't be any new features that break existing functionality.

This will be the third "scoped" feature update after Windows 20H2 and Windows 21H1. These three are all based on the same Window 10 version 2004 released in the first half of 2020. That is what will make it possible for the Windows 10 21H2 installation experience to be fast for anyone running on these three older versions of the operating system.

Microsoft tempers expectations by saying that the release will be focused on productivity and security, but that doesn't mean there won't be any new features. Those new features, however, won't be exciting for everyone, like Windows Hello support for Business users. Developers using the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) will probably be happy with the upcoming support for GPU Compute and Azure IoT Edge.

The company didn't give any specific launch date for Windows 10 21H2 other than sometime in the second half of the year, as its name suggests. It has, however, started rolling out builds to Windows Insiders, particularly those whose systems don't meet the requirements for Windows 11. Microsoft does promise the usual 18 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 30 months for Enterprise and Education versions of Windows 10 21H2.