Microsoft could be preparing to completely change its update schedule for Windows 10 due to the upcoming release of Windows 10X.
As reported by ZDNet, the software giant has said little about its plans for Windows 10X since back in May when its chief product officer Panos Panay revealed in a blog post that the company would pivot its focus from dual-screen devices to single-screen devices that leverage the power of the cloud.
According to sources, Microsoft is now targeting spring 2021 for the first commercial release of Windows 10X, which is not a new operating system but rather a variation of Windows 10 that features a simpler user interface and a more modular form. The company had originally planned to ship 10X first on upcoming dual-screen devices including its own Surface Neo.
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ZDNet reports that Microsoft's latest plan will see 10X first debut on single-screen devices aimed at businesses and education in the spring of 2021 followed by a roll out for additional single-screen and dual-screen devices in the spring of 2022.
Windows 10 release schedule
Now that Microsoft will soon have to release updates for both Windows 10 and Windows 10X, its update schedule will likely change as well.
The company could end up releasing just one feature update per year for Windows 10 beginning in 2021 in an effort to allow its engineers to work on updates for both operating systems according to ZDNet's sources. If this is true, then Microsoft will likely deliver Windows 10X releases in the spring and Windows 10 feature updates in the fall moving forward.
If the company does move to once-a-year feature update schedule, it will roll out Windows 10 20H2 in the fall of this year but this will be a very minor feature update. In the spring of 2021 though, Microsoft will finally release Windows 10X for the first time.
In the fall of 2021, the news outlet's sources say that the company will roll out a feature update for Windows 10 with an updated version of Windows 10X releasing in the spring of 2022 which will work on both single-screen as well as dual-screen devices.
We'll likely know exactly what Microsoft plans to do soon but updating Windows 10 in one half of the year and Windows 10X during the other half of the year does make a lot of sense as the company will now have to support two operating systems with updates and new feature releases.
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Via ZDNet
