Microsoft moves to new Windows development cycle with major release every three years, feature drops in between
(Source)
After spending the better part of a decade inflicting multiple Windows version updates every year, it sounds like Microsoft is finally coming back somewhat to its senses and reinstituting the three-year release policy that reigned from Vista (2006) to the launch of Windows 10 (2015).
According to my sources who are familiar with these plans, Microsoft now intends to ship “major” versions of the Windows client every three years, with the next release currently scheduled for 2024, three years after Windows 11 shipped in 2021.
However, the coast is not clear for those of us who value stability in an OS over involuntary tinkering:
Starting with Windows 11 version 22H2 (Sun Valley 2), Microsoft is kicking off a new “Moments” engineering effort which is designed to allow the company to rollout new features and experiences at key points throughout the year, outside of major OS releases. I hear the company intends to ship new features to the in-market version of Windows every few months, up to four times a year, starting in 2023.
“Moments” indeed–moments of anxiety as the new features (which doubtless there will be no built-in way to decline) eventually get installed… and perhaps also moments of relief as the installations happen to go off without further drama.
