Microsoft to Release Windows 11 Version 23H2 as an ‘Enablement Package’

Microsoft has started sharing the first details on the Windows 11 version 23H2, the next annual update for the OS to be released later this fall. On the Windows IT Pro blog today, the company explained that Windows 11 version 23H2 will share the same servicing branch and code base as Windows 11 version 22H2 (the latest version of the OS), and that’s why it will be available to download as an enablement package.

This is the same upgrade process that Microsoft has been using with recent Windows 10 updates: The versions 21H2 and 22H2 of Windows 10 share the same codebase as the version 20H2 of the OS, and these updates have been released via enablement packages that turn on new features.

In recent years, it may seem that the way Microsoft updates Windows becomes more complex with each version of the OS. We’ve moved from bi-annual updates with Windows 10 to annual updates on Windows 11, then Microsoft started releasing “Moment” updates throughout the year.

Microsoft has yet to detail the new features we can expect to see in Windows 11 version 23H2, but the fact that it’s from the same branch as version 22H2 suggests that it should be pretty minor. Because Windows 11 version 23H2 will share the same source code as version 22H2, Microsoft emphasized that IT pros “don’t need to worry about application or device compatibility between the versions.”

Microsoft actually published today a short whitepaper titled “Windows and the shared servicing model.” It details the advantages of using a single shared servicing branch and how Microsoft determines if a branch can be shared with the next version of Windows. Microsoft is usually not great at making sense of all these different types of Windows updates, but this is well worth a read if you want to better understand the reasoning behind all this.