Microsoft is gearing up to release Windows 10 version 21H1, aka the Spring Update, as they broadly release the feature update to all Windows Insiders in the Beta channel.
For some time, we have known that Windows 10 21H1 will be released as an enablement package that will turn on features already available but dormant in Windows 10 2004 and Windows 10 20H2. Using an enablement package allows the new feature update to be installed very quickly for those running these versions of Windows 10.
Last month. Microsoft officially announced the Windows 10 21H1 update and began testing it with Insiders in the Beta channel.
However, at the time, only ‘seekers,’ or those who click on the ‘Check for Updates’ button in Windows Update, would be offered the new feature update.
On Tuesday, Microsoft updated their Windows 10 21H1 announcement post to state that they are now releasing the feature update as a recommended download to all Windows 10 Insiders in the Beta channel.
With this move, Microsoft is more aggressively testing the new feature update with a much larger audience and a greater diversity of hardware to resolve bugs and conflicts before the new version is released to the public.
This release could be as soon as the next couple of months, as Microsoft has already started pushing down the necessary files to current public versions of Windows.
Starting with the February Windows 10 KB4598291 update (builds 19041.789 and 19042.789), Microsoft has begun installing and updating the files needed to upgrade Windows to 21H1.
However, these files are dormant until the feature update is released and the enablement package turns them on.
As Microsoft continues to update these files with each release of a new Windows 10 cumulative update, it indicates that Microsoft is getting very close to releasing the feature update.
Windows 10 21H1 is not an exciting release
Unfortunately, Windows 10 21H1 will not be a blockbuster release filled with new features and improvements that we were expecting.
Instead, users should look at the new feature update as simply a bug fix, with some improvements of existing features and extra shoring up of defenses for better security against exploits and threats.
At this time, Microsoft has announced the following changes coming in Windows 10 21H1.
- Windows Hello multicamera support to set the default as the external camera when both external and internal Windows Hello cameras are present.
- Windows Defender Application Guard performance improvements including optimizing document opening scenario times.
- Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Group Policy Service (GPSVC) updating performance improvement to support remote work scenarios.
For those waiting for a feature-rich update, you will have to wait until the Windows 10 Sun Valley feature update is expected for release in the fall of 2021.
Sun Valley will include numerous new features, such as the widely anticipated DNS over HTTPS, improved GPU performance, and a new modern disk management settings page.
Also included in Windows 10 Sun Valley is a design refresh that performs an overhaul of the Windows 10 UI components.
