Yes, Redstone 5 Will Be Named the October 2018 Update

No surprise here: Microsoft revealed today that Redstone 5 will be officially named the Windows 10 October 2018 Update.

“I’m pleased to announce that our next feature update to Windows will be called the Windows 10 October 2018 Update,” Microsoft corporate vice president Roanne Sones writes in a post to the Windows Blog. “With this update, we’ll be bringing new features and enhancements to the nearly 700 million devices running Windows 10 that help people make the most of their time. We’ll share more details about the update over the coming weeks.”

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So, yes, Microsoft has been using the phrase “nearly 700 million Windows 10 devices” for literally fours months now. And yes, that should now be considered a cause for alarm. As I’ve noted in the past, Windows 10 usage had been rising at a rate of ~17 million new PCs every month (or 100 million every six months) at the time those words first escaped Terry Myerson’s mouth. So one has to wonder how it’s possible that we’re not counting down to 800 million PCs by this point.

Beyond this disturbing tidbit, today’s Microsoft announcement concerns the various new PCs that its hardware partners had already announced at IFA this week. We’ve already covered that in separate posts here on the site, so there’s no reason to go through that again.

Which brings us to the future. Microsoft casually dropped a bombshell, of sorts, when it recently revealed that the version of Windows 10 after Windows 10 version 1803 (the October 2018 Update) will drop the Redstone naming convention and is codenamed H119 (for “first half of 2019”) instead.

Many have speculated that this new naming style will be applied to the final version of this product. That, instead of Windows 10 version 1903, it will be called Windows 10 version 19H1.

But I don’t think so. I believe that this codename change has more to do with the new owners of Windows 10 development—e.g. the Azure group—and their desire to be clearer and more concise, and more transparent for customers. And I believe that Windows 10 naming going forward will stay consistent, and be consistent with that of Windows Server.

That’s still a ways off, of course. For now, I’m just happy that both of the 2018 releases of Windows 10 have been nonsense free. And the names of the updates reflect that fact very nicely.

 

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Conversation 21 comments

  • locust infested orchard inc

    31 August, 2018 - 11:17 am

    <p>Let's hope the 'Hunt for Red(stone) October' doesn't become one by arriving on schedule, and not delayed as was the case with the previous 1803.</p>

    • bart

      Premium Member
      31 August, 2018 - 11:21 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#311844">In reply to locust infested orchard inc:</a></em></blockquote><p>Code name 1809, official name October 2018 update. You tell me ;)</p>

      • MikeGalos

        31 August, 2018 - 12:23 pm

        <blockquote><em><a href="#311848">In reply to Bart:</a></em></blockquote><p>Build number (what you call "code name" although it isn't) is the date of the build. Name is the date of the release. Final testing of an RC takes time. Developers care about when a build was built, consumers care about when it was released.</p>

        • Jacob Klein

          03 September, 2018 - 1:00 am

          <blockquote><em><a href="#311911">In reply to MikeGalos:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>The Version number of "1809" does not have to be the month that the build was created. Microsoft can, and should, make the Version number match the name of the update. In this case, they should have made the version number of "1810", to match the name "October 2018 Update." There is no physical reason why they couldn't do this. And doing it would alleviate some confusion.</p>

  • bart

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 11:20 am

    <p>Wasn't the codename 19H1? Or did that get changed with this blog post?</p>

  • waethorn

    31 August, 2018 - 11:35 am

    <p>So when are they going to drop the Redstone codename?</p>

  • Maktaba

    31 August, 2018 - 12:36 pm

    <p>“Windows 10 October 2018 Update” makes perfect sense.</p>

  • Kevin Costa

    31 August, 2018 - 12:39 pm

    <p>I believe that it is Just the codename that will change (Redstone to xxH1 or xxH2). The actual version will continue the same as before (1903, 1909, 2003, 2009, etc). The only possible change I imagine that could happen is if the launch month changes (1902, 1905, 1911, etc) </p>

  • timwakeling

    31 August, 2018 - 12:41 pm

    <p>Shame. I was looking forward to "Windows 10 Version 2003" in about 18 months' time.</p>

  • timo47

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 2:12 pm

    <p>Wouldn't it be ironic if the drop of Windows 10 Mobile devices from this statistic has been offsetting the growth of the other devices just enough to stop MS from reaching their 700 million number?</p><p><br></p><p>In all likelyhood, the number was probably closer to 650 milion when Myerson announced it and they were simply too optimistic about their growth numbers. Remember that 1 bilion goal?</p>

  • simont

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 2:15 pm

    <p>That is better name than Spring/Summer 201X update which only applies for half the planet.</p>

  • NT6.1

    31 August, 2018 - 4:21 pm

    <p>They already gave up on Windows 10. I was told each Windows 10 build would be full of exciting and new features. Hahaha.</p><p><br></p><p>1507: Beta 1</p><p>1511: Beta 2</p><p>1607: RTM</p><p>1703: Filler</p><p>1709: Filler</p><p>1803: Filler</p><p>1809: Filler.</p><p><br></p><p>Windows 10 failed in every imaginable way. Time to scrap everything and start over with NT 6.1.</p>

  • skane2600

    31 August, 2018 - 4:47 pm

    <p>I suspect these updates are just "abstract art" to the average user. For them Windows 10 is just that 3 year-old version of Windows.</p>

    • Angusmatheson

      01 September, 2018 - 10:28 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#312359">In reply to skane2600:</a></em></blockquote><p>I’m one for whom it turned my computer abstract art. I was working on a friends Surface Pro with a cracked corner. The computer felt the crack was a constant touch rendering the computer useless (its funny I’ve seen a ton of cracked phones and tablets – and they have never had this problem) I saved it for her by turning off the touch screen. It works great! I was a hero. Until 1803 – which as I was getting ready to give it back to her – installed automatically – and turned to touch screen back on during install process. And that constant touch put it into a perpetual boot loop. Having an update that I didn’t ask for, or even give permission for, bork the working (although not perfect) computer was terrible. MIcrosoft Store wouldn’t fix it – but if I gave them $550 would give me a newer Surface Pro. I paid $200 for a guy in my town to do what Microsoft couldn’t and fixed the screen. So it could finish the update I didn’t want and didn’t make the computer any better. I have no idea whybit would change the setting – and couldn’t find a way to get it the Surface BIOS to turn off the touchscreen on a more fundamental level. I think I would have been less unhappy if the update hadn’t gone off itself and I had said yes it want it – which I probably would have done because I had no way of predicting this problem. So 1803 turned my Surface into constantly rebooting red screen Modern Art statement about the futility of life and the transience of our data. Thanks Microsoft – so glad you could brag about this was the fastest adopted version of Window 10.</p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 6:31 pm

    <p>Another clear sign MSFT is focused on its enterprise customers. Nothing too boring for them.</p><p>Would have been more fun to have named it <em>Windows 10 Halloween 2018 Update</em>.</p>

  • mattbg

    Premium Member
    31 August, 2018 - 10:08 pm

    <p> I'm sure everyone has a theory on what the best version naming scheme would be… but why not just 2018.1, 2018.2, etc? If the assumption is that there are two releases every year then it'd be easy to figure out where you stand with this numbering.</p>

  • Angusmatheson

    01 September, 2018 - 10:46 am

    <p>I’ve always thought Mac’s OSX Big Cat’s (now places in California), Androids candy, and Linux Animal Alliteration was stupid. But even if arbitrary and pointless, at least gives a name that isn’t just a series of numbers. Trying it to a Month was always retarded. And calling it after a season with for 1/2 of the world it is a different season seemed not just stupid but at best America centric and at worst dismissive and a little racist. Maybe something simple 19H1 and 19H2 is a breath of logical simplicity and lack of silliness that will hit the spot…if they stick with it and not give it dumb names like the “creators update” and use that same name again for the next update. They could have done something semi-arbitrary like the others with – creators, explorers, inventors, makers – and using that to highlight cool things around that theme people do on Windows, but they didn’t. They back to naming for months that weren’t really when they came out or when users would get it. I think creators update would have also seemed less dumb if they had an campaign or at least a video about how people creat on Windows 10.</p>

  • Jacob Klein

    03 September, 2018 - 12:54 am

    <p>Paul:</p><p>"H119" ….. or ….. "1H19" ? Your article currently uses both.</p>

  • fbman

    03 September, 2018 - 1:25 am

    <p>Makes sense, it will be easy to tell which is the latest version</p>

  • irfaanwahid

    03 September, 2018 - 7:17 am

    <p>Does it also mean it is releasing in October? Because we kept hearing that this release will be due in Sept.</p>

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