- Microsoft has confirmed Windows 11 25H2 is the update for this year
- The upgrade is now official in testing
- It will be a more minor update delivered as an ‘enablement -pack’ and that is a good thing as we are likely to see fewer bugs than with 24h2
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 25H2 is the next update to its desktop operating system arriving later this year.
It ends up whispers that we may just see the release of Windows 12 – or whatever the next incarnation of us will be called – later in the year. However, the hope that it had already subsided to dying to die glow in all honesty.
The message came in an IT project blog post from Microsoft that Toms Hardware marked.
Microsoft told us: “Today, Windows 11, Version 25H2 became available to the Windows Insider Society before planning a wider accessibility planned for the second half of 2025.”
The Windows Insider Society is the formal name for those testing Windows 11, which runs preview versions of us (in different channels, from the earliest buildings in the Canary Channel to Release Preview Channel, which, as the name implies, is a step away from release).
So some of these testers are now officially using Windows 11 25H2, and Microsoft confirmed another suspicion that has previously been sent about the next big update to the operating system – that is what is known as an ‘enablement package’ or ‘ekb’ too short.
This means that the move to 25H2 will be a quick upgrade for those on Windows 11 24h2 and as Microsoft puts it, the update will be “as easy as a quick reboot”.
The 25H2 update is typically expected to arrive in September or October, and I would not expect it before -I would not rule out the possibility of a November release. As always, it will be a running roll -out so it can take some time to reach your PC.
Analysis: Fewer features, but fewer problems?
How does the activation method, Microsoft, here, help a quick and simple update? That’s because 25H2 is built on the same ‘service branch’ as 24h2, which means they use the same code. They are for all purposes the same, except 25h2, some additional features added on top – and because these versions of Windows 11 are the same code base, these features can be effectively loaded into devices running 24h2.
What this means is that when it comes to using the update, it is already in place and it just needs to be activated. Therefore, the term is the ‘Enablement package’ and with just a simple switch that gets flipped to turn on 25H2’s features when the update is broadcast live, it’s basically just a quick reboot and you’re done. At least in theory that nevertheless prevents any problems.
What this also means is that there will be no major changes with Windows 11 25H2. A release of activation package is a quick and quick implementation, but does not change anything bigger with Windows 11’s code, as mentioned, and therefore we probably get a rather limited doll of new features with 25H2.
In short, you will not get your hopes for some soil chopping this year regarding Microsoft’s changes to Windows 11. However, the flip side is that without much trait there is much less chance that some ugly bugs will show up.
Windows 11 24h2 brought in a new underlying platform – Germanium – which was a huge shift, and my theory has long been that this is why we have seen more than the usual help of critters outlining the us – and some very strange glitches too). By 2025 it should not happen, and hopefully Microsoft will come back on the field to make sure Windows 11 runs smoothly (knocking on wood, fingers crossed, etc.).
