Microsoft is reportedly preparing Windows 11 version 27H2, the big Windows 11 2027 update, as a full OS swap like 24H2, with some extra love for quality and performance. Windows 11 25H2 and 26H2 were enablement packages that switched on features already shipped in monthly updates, while 27H2 would replace or upgrade major parts of the OS. Microsoft hasn’t announced 27H2 or said anything about Windows 12, so the branding could still change.
Either way, Windows 11 looks very different from the OS Microsoft launched in 2021. Since March of this year, Microsoft has reworked the taskbar, Start, Search, File Explorer, updates and memory usage, and trimmed Copilot from apps where it was unnecessary.
Windows 11 27H2 could be a full OS swap like 24H2, unlike 25H2 and 26H2
Microsoft started planning a three-year release cycle in 2022, and many, including me, expected the first big release in 2024 to be Windows 12. But it was Windows 11 24H2, and 2027 is the next turn of that cycle.
For context, 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2 share one servicing branch and codebase, which is why 26H2 was a tiny download and a single restart. However, Windows 11 26H1 runs on a different Windows core for new Snapdragon X, X2, and RTX Spark PCs, which can’t move to 26H2.
Back in February, we understood both branches would come together in 2027, with 27H2. Merging two platforms calls for a full OS swap, which is what 27H2 is now reported to be.
With more to validate, Windows Insider testing could begin well before the June timeframe Microsoft used for 25H2 and 26H2. Insiders already run Experimental (Future Platforms) builds in the 29500 series, though Microsoft says those aren’t matched to any specific release.
Much of this comes from The Verge’s Tom Warren, whose sources say Microsoft is already preparing 27H2. Warren can’t say yet whether Microsoft will consider Windows 12 branding next year, so take the “no Windows 12” part with a grain of salt.
Windows 11 has changed a lot since Microsoft’s March quality reset
On March 20, Windows boss Pavan Davuluri promised better “performance, reliability and craft,” along with a long list of fixes. Most of them have now shipped or reached Insiders.
- The taskbar can finally move to the top, left or right. Mine has been on the right ever since.
- Start comes in two sizes, and you can hide the Pinned, Recent or All sections.
- Search dropped promotional content, and a new WinUI 3 Search is in testing.
- File Explorer opens faster and stopped flashing white in dark mode.
- Snipping Tool and Photos lost the “Ask Copilot” button, and Notepad’s Copilot icon became “Writing Tools”.
- You can skip updates during setup and pause them for longer.
- Run, Properties, AutoPlay, Print Management are being rebuilt in WinUI 3. The old Defrag tool is also on the list.
- Low Latency Profile made a 10-year-old PC feel snappier in our testing.
- A new speed test flyout from the taskbar, built on WinUI in one day using AI is in testing, and changed my perspective on what’s possible with AI and Windows development.
New Internet Speed Test feature in Windows 11 on a top positioned taskbar. Credit: Windows Latest
These are just the ones off the top of my head, and there’s a lot more. The software giant is even fixing WinUI’s own RAM usage before moving more of the shell to it, and a full platform release is the right opportunity to do a lot of that behind-the-scenes work.
Microsoft is betting on fixing Windows 11 first, and I’m all for it
On November 3, Davuluri said Windows 11 is up to 20% more responsive on 8GB PCs, and multitasking finished up to 40% faster in one lab test. Yes, those are Microsoft’s numbers, but on my dad’s 8GB laptop, RAM usage after a restart dropped from 5GB to 3.3GB on 26H2. We did this test way before Microsoft announced their numbers or anyone published their results. But fortunately, our build was the same one Microsoft tested.
A cousin who switched to a MacBook recently asked me if Windows 12 is coming. I told him Windows 11 is nothing like what it was in 2025, the Copilot nagging is mostly gone, and I’d prefer Microsoft hold off on Windows 12 until people stop hating the OS powering a billion PCs.
There’s still plenty to fix, though. Teams, Copilot, Weather, and Clipchamp are web-based, while Photos went native. I use Clipchamp every day, and I’d happily pay for Premium if it were a WinUI app.
It would be best if Microsoft is betting on steady improvements to win people back, instead of a reset to Windows 12. Let the hate cool down first, then tease Windows 12 for a year and build the hype.
Microsoft is reportedly retiring Bloom, Windows 11’s default wallpaper
Warren’s sources say Microsoft will show new wallpapers at Ignite later this month and roll them out broadly in early January. They resemble Bloom, but with a folded ribbon of color surrounded by clouds. The Pro version will likely be closest to Bloom’s colors, while consumer variants will be themed around gaming, productivity, creators, and performance.
Microsoft introduced Bloom in 2021 as a symbol of starting anew. Also, it highlighted the symmetry aspect of the desktop, with the centred Search and immovable taskbar. So, its replacement deserves a story.
Windows 10’s hero wallpaper was a Windows logo built out of light using lasers, haze machines and projectors. The lock screen is now a viral travel destination too. I’m not asking Microsoft to hire an entire studio or a bunch of photographers and send them on an expedition (please do that for Windows 12), but the users should feel that there was an effort, and that’s a story.
I’m only saying this because Microsoft’s recent Insider anniversary wallpapers listed Photoshop for Mac in their file properties. It takes an immense amount of audacity to post Mac-made wallpapers for the most ardent Windows testers. Anyway, Redmond should ask its designers to make the Windows 11 27H2 default wallpaper on a Windows PC. It would be great if we got some new system sounds to match.
As for Windows 12, Microsoft doesn’t need to rush it. If 27H2 brings both platforms together on a faster, more native foundation, Windows 11 might finally get the love XP and 7 got. Would you be fine waiting a few more years for Windows 12?
