Windows 11 Version “24H2” Appears in Official Support Document
- Laurent Giret
- Feb 02, 2024
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10
The next version of Windows coming later this year is likely going to be another flavor of Windows 11 instead of a flashy “Windows 12” update. That’s according to an official support page from Microsoft spotted by Windows Latest that mentions “Windows 11 version 24H2,” apparently for the first time.
Microsoft dropped this “Windows 11 version 24H2” mention in an obscure support page about the Process Status API (PSAPI) technology, which was last updated on January 29, 2024. Here, there’s a paragraph about changes to the EnumDeviceDrivers function (psapi.h) in Windows 11 version 24H2.
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With the release of Windows 11 in the fall of 2021, Windows went back to an annual release cycle with major updates in the fall. We already had two of these with Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2, and according to this official support document, 24H2 is next in line. There are also the “Moment” updates and “controlled feature rollouts” that complicate things a bit, as Windows 11 is now receiving new features throughout the year when they’re ready.
If the next version of Windows 11 is expected to introduce several new AI features, it may well be too early to announce another brand-new version of Windows while the majority of users are still running Windows 10. According to Statcounter, Windows 10 had a 66.74% market share in January 2024, while Windows 11 is still far behind at 27.84%. And it’s likely that most Windows 10 users who had PCs that met the minimal hardware requirements for Windows 11 have already upgraded.
Overall, it’s probably not in Microsoft’s best interest to create more fragmentation by launching a brand-new version of Windows so soon. We’ll see what happens eventually, but Windows 10 isn’t going away anytime soon. Microsoft has just started giving more love to the OS by backporting Windows 11 features like its new Copilot Assistant. The Windows 10 Insider Beta Channel is also reportedly coming back, and the company also announced an Extended Security Updates program for the OS, which will also be available for consumers.