- It is rumored that Windows 11 will get an update early next year
- It may be called the 26H1 update, but Microsoft may avoid that name
- Either way, it’ll only be for Snapdragon X2 Elite laptops — but all features in it will come to all Windows 11 PCs in the 26H2 update
Windows 11 25H2 has not been around for long, but already talk has turned to next year’s big update – and the possibility that there may be two big updates for 2026.
At this point, this is just a rumor that Neowin discovered – and even the source of the speculation is not sure that there will be both a version 26H1 and 26H2 next year – but apparently there will be a major upgrade to Windows 11 in early 2026.
In a post on YouTube, delicious PhantomOfEarth informs us that this update will not be for most people. It will only be implemented for Copilot+ PCs with Arm chips. Specifically, we’re told that Microsoft will deploy this new version of Windows 11 alongside the launch of Snapdragon X2 Elite laptops (early 2026).
According to PhantomOfEarth, “[It looks] like a Windows 11 version 26H1 is happening for Snapdragon X2 Elite launch ONLY (this will NOT be released to existing PCs, it will be 26H2).”
In a further post, PhantomOfEarth clarifies that this new version of Windows 11 is definitely in the works – adding salt with this claim, of course – only for the X2 Elite PCs, but that it might not be called version 26H1.
Although a reference to ’26H1′ apparently exists, it is a significant hint that this could happen. Whatever the case, in theory there’s a big update to Windows 11 coming early in 2026, but most Windows 11 PCs won’t get it.
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For most, the big release for next year will therefore be Windows 11 26H2 as expected.
One of the reasons Microsoft might not name the alleged first upgrade for 2026 as 26H1 is that it might make people feel like they’re missing out. Although, on the other hand, such a naming decision could make the Snapdragon X2 Elite laptops feel more at the forefront of Microsoft’s desktop ecosystem and perhaps help drive sales (of those upgrading from Windows 10 – there are still quite a few holdouts, myself included for now).
In reality, this is not very different from what Microsoft already did earlier with the introduction of the first Snapdragon X laptops. If you remember, these devices received Windows 11 24H2 before everyone else when they launched mid-year. (24H2 wasn’t rolled out to all Windows 11 users until October 2024, a few months after the first Copilot+ PCs started shipping with 24H2 on board).
It’s still a pretty safe bet that Windows 11 26H2 will incorporate all the work in 26H1 (or whatever it’s called), so all this means is that non-Arm PC owners are just waiting a little longer for an upgrade (again). Basically, the early 2026 update for Windows 11 is likely to include some important work to ensure that the new Snapdragon X2 Elite CPUs work as they should. (Again, in the case of the 24H2, it packed some fundamental changes in the form of a new underlying platform for Windows 11, which was necessary for Snapdragon X chips to actually work).
Of course, there will also be some shiny toys for Snapdragon X2 devices, no doubt.
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