Towards the end of last year, Microsoft indicated that it had big plans in store for its Windows 11 operating system in 2023. And to this end, it seems that the company is actually living up to its promise.
Ever since the year began Microsoft has been busy at work, and to this end, it has already released its first major feature drop from Windows 11, the Moment 2 update. The update featured AI capabilities alongside Phone Link support for iOS which is now available for everyone.
And matching the beat of the drums, Microsoft is now getting ready to ship its Moment 3 update in the next couple of weeks. We delve deeper into details about this in a separate post, so be sure to also check that out for more information about the improvements and new features on the way.
In retrospect, before the debut of Moment feature updates, users had to wait for the annual Windows feature update to take place in the fall. These updates are essentially designed to help deliver ‘continuous innovation’ to Windows 11 users throughout the lifecycle of the product.
Microsoft dropped its first major feature update last year in September, the Windows 11 2022 update which featured a tabbed File Explorer. Microsoft further highlighted its intentions to shift to a new update cadence for Windows 11 designed to bring new features and improvements to users on a regular basis.
Ideally, Microsoft should ship three major feature drops to users this year. The first one already dropped and the second one is in the works and ready to ship at any moment now. And as it happens, the third and final release (Moment 4) could be in the works and ready to drop later this year as spotted by @PhantomofEarth on Twitter with Windows Central’s Zac Bowden reiterating the same sentiments.
This pretty much confirms that Windows 11 version 23H2 coming later this year will be a CU release, not a full build upgrade, as 23H2 is based on the same platform release as version 22H2.
Next major version of the Windows platform is still on track to launch in the second half… https://t.co/6yrkbNqEsL
— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) May 18, 2023
The Moment 4 update is expected to bump up the OS version from 22H2 to 23H2. To this end, there’s little to go on about what Microsoft has in store for users in the future. But we already know that the company will no longer ship feature updates to Windows 10 which is slated to hit its end-of-support on October 14, 2025.
Recently, the company also highlighted its plans to discontinue Windows 10 21H2 support and that it’ll be bumping users to Windows 10 22H2 automatically. There have also been rumors that Microsoft is quietly working on a new OS, “Windows 12”, and that we could be looking at a 2024 launch.
Keeping in mind, Microsoft’s intent to start shipping major versions of the Windows client every three years. this might not be as farfetched. However, Microsoft has remained silent on the matter.