We’re getting closer to the public release of Windows 10 version 21H1, which will be officially named the May 2021 Update. Microsoft has just announced that the 21H1 build 19043.928, which was released on April 13, should be the “final build” for the May 2021 Update and it’s available to download on this page.
However, new patches for the next Windows 10 release are still being tested with Windows Insiders in the Beta and Release Preview rings ahead of the public rollout of the May 2021 Update. Indeed, Microsoft has just released the 21H1 cumulative update build 19043.964 (KB5001391) to the Beta Channel & Release Preview Channels, which brings a single fix for an issue causing a 0xC2 (BAD_POOL_CALLER) bugcheck when using IOCTL_SCSI_PASS_THROUGH_DIRECT.
For Windows Insiders in the Release Preview who have yet to install Windows 10 version 21H1, the next Windows 10 release is now available as an optional update for “seekers” in Windows Update. “Once an Insider updates their PC to the May 2021 Update, they will continue to automatically receive new servicing updates through Windows Update (like the monthly update process), including Build 19043.964,” the Windows Insider team explained today.
If the Windows 10 May 2021 Update will start rolling out to the public next month, the Windows Insider team didn’t share the exact release date today. This could be on next month’s Patch Tuesday (May 11), or the company may wait until the last week of May start the public rollout.
Just like the November 2020 Update (20H2) before it, the May 2021 Update (21H1) for Windows 10 will be another minor release that will install just like a regular cumulative update. The only new features in this release are multi-camera support for Windows Hello, as well as performance improvements for Windows Defender Application Guard.
Microsoft is planning a much more substantial Windows 10 update for later this year with version 21H2, and we’ve already seen glimpses of the exciting “Sun Valley” redesign effort in recent Insider builds. We hope that the company will talk more about Windows 10 version 21H2 at its annual Build developer conference on May 25-27.
