Microsoft starts testing large-scale Windows 11 update on 24H2
The next major update to Windows 11 will be released later this year, but Microsoft is already starting to test it. New Windows Insider builds released in the Canary and Dev channels have changed their version numbers to “24H2”.
Microsoft has already tested some new features of Windows 11 24H2 publicly. The most famous of the new features is the addition of the Sudo command for Windows. The new build also includes improved support for hearing aids, support for creating 7-zip and TAR archives in Explorer, a power saving mode, and new changes to the SMB protocol. This build also removes the WordPad and Tips programs.
There are some indications that the Windows 11 24H2 update will be very significant in scope. It looks like the company is revising things like the Windows installation process from scratch. The current setup screens have not changed much since Windows Vista in 2006. Since then, only light and mostly cosmetic changes have been made (and even in the updated version, window borders are still made in the Vista/7 style).
Despite preparations to release the Windows 11 update on 24H2, rumors are circulating about Microsoft’s intention to release the next version of Windows 12 this year. The existence of Windows 12, largely based on rumors and occasional statements by PC manufacturers and analysts, has never been officially confirmed or denied by Microsoft.
The upcoming 24H2 update suggests that Windows 11 will be around for at least another year, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out the release of Windows 12 this year. Windows 10 received the 21H2 update in the year of Windows 11’s release, and a year later, the 22H2 update (although none of them contained significant new features). Microsoft may rename the next feature update to a new version of the OS. That’s exactly what happened with Windows 11, which was originally planned as a major revision of Windows 10.
Artificial intelligence is supposed to be the focus of a hypothetical Windows 12, just like the last few major Windows 11 updates.
