- Microsoft has confirmed Windows 11 25H2 is the update for this year
- The upgrade is now officially in testing
- It’ll be a more minor update delivered as an ‘enablement package’ and that’s a good thing as we’re likely to see fewer bugs than with 24H2
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 11 25H2 is the next update for its desktop operating system, arriving later this year.
That ends whispers that we might just see the release of Windows 12 – or whatever the next incarnation of the OS will be called – later this year. However, hope of that had already dwindled to pretty much dying embers in all honesty.
The announcement came in an IT Pro blog post from Microsoft that Tom’s Hardware flagged.
Microsoft told us: “Today, Windows 11, version 25H2 became available to the Windows Insider community, in advance of broader availability planned for the second half of 2025.”
The Windows Insider community is the formal name for those who are testing Windows 11, running preview versions of the OS (in various channels, from the earliest builds in the Canary channel to the Release Preview channel, which, as the name suggests, is one step away from release).
So, some of those testers are now officially using Windows 11 25H2, and Microsoft further confirmed another suspicion that’s been previously aired about the next big update for the operating system – that it’s what’s known as an ‘enablement package’ or ‘eKB’ for short.
This means that the move to 25H2 will be a swift upgrade for those who are on Windows 11 24H2, and as Microsoft puts it, the update will be “as easy as a quick restart”.
The 25H2 update would typically be expected to arrive in September or October, and I wouldn’t expect it any sooner – neither would I rule out the possibility of a November release. As ever, it’ll be an ongoing rollout, so it could take some time to reach your PC.
Analysis: Fewer features, but fewer problems?
How does the enablement package delivery method Microsoft is employing here help to ensure a speedy and simple update? It’s because 25H2 is built on the same ‘servicing branch’ as 24H2, meaning that they use the same code. They are, for all intents and purposes, the same, except 25H2 has some extra features added on top – and because these versions of Windows 11 are the same codebase, those features can effectively be preloaded to devices running 24H2.
What this means is that when it comes to applying the update, it’s already in place, and it just has to be enabled. Hence the phrase ‘enablement package’, and with just a simple switch being flicked to turn on 25H2’s features when the update is sent live, it’s basically just a quick reboot, and you’re done. At least in theory, anyway, barring any issues.
However, what this also means is that there’ll be no major changes with Windows 11 25H2. An enablement package release is a fast and quick deployment, but doesn’t change anything major with Windows 11’s code, as noted, and so we will likely get a fairly limited dollop of new features with 25H2.
In short, don’t get your hopes up for anything earthshaking this year regarding Microsoft’s changes to Windows 11. However, the flipside is that without any major moves, there’s far less chance of any nasty bugs popping up.
Windows 11 24H2 brought in a new underlying platform – Germanium – which was a huge shift, and my theory has long been that this is why we’ve seen more than the usual helping of critters skittering about in the works of the OS (and some very strange glitches, too). In 2025, that shouldn’t happen, and hopefully, Microsoft will get back on course with ensuring Windows 11 runs more smoothly (knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc.).