Microsoft has christened this year’s fall update as the Windows 10 version 21H2. At the moment, it’s only available for “seekers” in the Release Preview Channel and Beta Channel for unsupported Windows 11 PCs, meaning those who check for updates manually will be offered the feature update.
Windows 10 21H2 has already been feature-locked and it’s frozen in terms of adding noticeable improvements, and Microsoft has been working on stabilising the OS. Windows 10 October 2021 Update is apparently around the corner and Microsoft has now released a new cumulative update to prepare this new version of Windows for consumers.
Build 19044.1263 or newer is likely to be the final build that will ship to users in October 2021. That’s because Microsoft has now published Windows 10 ISO images for Build 19044.1263 in the Windows Insider program, and it is also rolling out to all testers in the program.
Microsoft is currently busy squashing bugs that pop up during the final testing, so it’s likely that a big cumulative update with bug fixes will be released in the last week of October 2021.
Windows 10 21H2 rollout rumours
Naturally, Windows 10 21H2 will reach non-Insiders in the month of October as an optional update, ahead of a likely wider rollout in early 2022. If you have a Windows 11 compatible device, you’ll be able to choose between the two versions of Windows on the Windows Update page.
As we reported recently, Windows 10 version 21H2 (October 2021 Update) is a minor enablement package update and it comes with quality improvements for enterprise customers.
According to the changelog, Microsoft has fixed issues with Windows 10’s OOBE (out-of-box experience). Another bug has been fixed that causes the operating system to display time incorrectly after a daylight saving time (DST) change. Microsoft has also fixed an issue where Outlook apps would stop responding during normal use.
Microsoft is also testing TPM attestation support for Windows 10 21H2-powered PCs using Intel Tiger Lake CPUs. Similarly, Microsoft is testing support for external Windows Hello cameras, but this feature will require support for built-in Windows Hello cameras as well as external cameras.
Windows 10 isn’t going to change dramatically after October 2021 Update and there won’t be any new features in version 21H2.
We’ve also heard of improvements for inbox apps like Microsoft Photos, Clock, Mails & Calendar on Windows 10, but Microsoft hasn’t revealed when these Windows 11 apps will arrive on Windows 10 machines.
Microsoft has only confirmed that Windows 10’s Store app will get Windows 11-like design in the fall of this year and more details will be shared later.