- Fresh clues about the 25H2 update has been uncovered
- References in a file mention 25h2 and tie it to preview BUILDS in the 26200 series recently started by Microsoft
- Since 26200 is a slight increase from earlier 26100 builds, the 25H2 update will be a minor affair in the form of an ‘enablement -package’
Several clues have been picked up, suggesting that Microsoft is actually working on Windows 11 25H2 – speculation that was first fired up last month – and that it is likely to be a relatively minor update.
Windows most recently noted that one of the more regular leaks of Microsoft-related info about X, Xenopanther, discovered what is apparently a reference to the 25H2 update in a recent preview-building of Windows 11.
GE25H2 is mentioned in Appraiserres.dll26200 = ft_all_compatindicatorHelper_Writingge25h2April 23, 2025
The reference to ‘GE25H2’ is present in a DLL file, and it stands for ‘greater than or equal to 25h2’, and there is another mention of 25H2 that specifically connects it to the series with builds numbered from 26200.
Windows latest has verified this, noting that the ‘DLL’ DLL concerning is concerned with whether a PC is qualified for the upgrade. In other words, this is part of the code that verifies if a given system is compatible and okay to have 25h2 installed.
Analysis: Probably an activation package for 25h2?
All this is, of course, in theory, as Microsoft has not said it works on Windows 11 25H2 officially or even mentioned the name at all.
What Microsoft has told us back in March, if you remember, is that it does “Behind the Sereters Platform Changes” in the new Preview-Builds in the 26200 Series. And as mentioned above, 26200 is mentioned and tied to 25h2 specifically in this DLL file.
The changes made in the background are theorized to be adjustments to the platform that supports Desktop us, which was updated to a new model called germanium with Windows 11 24h2. As another delicious, Zac Bowden, informed us last month, it is very likely that all this is wrapped up with the early basis for 25h2, which could be a much less update compared to 24h2, which was a huge company (with that shift to germanium).
The change from the previous 26100 buildings to the 26200 series is a slight increase, suggesting that 25h2 will be an equally scaled-down update. As Windows latest points out, it is likely to be what is called a ‘enablement package’ in the same way that 23h2 was built on 22h2. This simply means any new features (without a doubt a small number of them) is already in place in Windows 11 and will simply be activated by the update.
All this is guesswork at this point, although with this new leak it seems to be a little more likely that this is how things will unfold.
The potentially good news on 25H2 is a minor update is that with fewer changes there should also be fewer bugs. The 24H2 update has proved seriously problematic with Gremlins in the works partly because of all the tinkering that takes place deep in the gut of Windows 11 required to initiate the Germanium platform.
