Windows 10 is a step closer to big anniversary release

Windows 10 Anniversary Update

The Anniversary Update for Windows 10 is just around the corner with it now being feature-locked as Microsoft prepares the final touches for the major upgrade.

According to sources familiar with Redmond's internal work on the operating system who spoke to Win Beta, the update has been feature-locked, which means it's frozen in terms of adding stuff, and Microsoft is now working on stabilising the release and squashing any bugs that pop up during the final furlongs.

Any major features which haven't been introduced at this point – with version 1607 of Windows 10 now being official as an internal build at Microsoft – will be put back to what's known as the Redstone 2 update which is expected early next year (the Anniversary Update was previously known as Redstone 1).

Target date

Naturally, the update will reach Windows Insiders for testing soon enough, ahead of a likely full release on the one-year anniversary of the launch of Windows 10 (the most likely date given that this is the 'Anniversary Update' – we're sure Microsoft will do its best to hit this target).

While those who already have Windows 10 may be keenly anticipating the goodies they'll receive in just a couple of months now, those Windows 7/8.1 users who are being badgered to upgrade to Microsoft's newest OS are doubtless alarmed at the latest measure brought forward by the "Get Windows 10" scheme.

As we reported yesterday, closing the pop-up box urging you to upgrade is now apparently taken as consent that you wish to fire up Windows 10 on your machine – if you've set your PC to accept recommended updates, which the OS now is – and this is bizarre thinking to say the least.

If you aren't manually vetting your Windows updates, you should certainly take care in order to avoid a 'surprise' upgrade kicking off…

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

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