Yes, 21H1 is a Thing! (Premium)

Thanks to a confusing strategy change in 2020 and ongoing terrible communications from the Windows Insider team, we’re all wondering what’s going on with the next two versions of Windows, Windows 10 versions 21H1 and 21H2. Or even whether there will be a 21H1 release, given the silence to date.

Well, here’s a tiny bit of good news.

Microsoft has finally publicly confirmed that it intends to release Windows 10 version 21H1 in the first half of 2021. It did so via a Tech Community blog post, spotted by Neowin, and that post confirms another important detail that we’ve long anticipated: Windows 10 version 21H1 will be yet another minor release, similar to Windows 10 versions 2004 (20H1) and 20H2.

“The Windows 10, version 21H1 release will not bring updates to the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program and will follow the same guidelines as 20H2,” the post reveals. Finally.

So there are no Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP) requirements and no changes to drivers. For all intents and purposes, Windows 10 versions 2004, 20H2, and 21H2 are identical from an OS version perspective.

This means that these versions are likewise identical from a servicing perspective—a fact not mentioned by this post—-though we can assume that Microsoft will of course continue to ship identical updates for each, as it’s done for Windows 10 versions 2004 and 20H2.

Of course, we still have questions. And key among them is the other two Windows 10 releases that Microsoft plans to ship in 2021.

The more obvious is Windows 10 version 21H2. As its name suggests, this release is due in the second half of the year and is expected to a major upgrade—a so-called feature update—and not just a cumulative update like versions 2004, 20H2, and 21H1. That said, the only major feature we’re currently aware of is a sweeping UX update, codenamed Sun Valley, that will bring rounded window and menu corners everywhere.

The second and less obvious is Windows 10X, which is a Win32-less offshoot of mainstream Windows 10 aimed at mobile devices. It’s not clear yet when in 2021 that Windows 10X will ship, or which version of Windows 10 it will initially be based on. But it, too, brings a major UX change compared to today’s Windows 10, with rounded window and menu corners everywhere, and Chrome OS-like elements like a floating and centered Start experience and a new Action Center. Over time, 10X is expected to evolve to support Win32 (desktop) Windows apps, but that won’t happen until next year at the earliest.

Unfortunately, when we look at the state of Windows development today, there are further questions.

For example, different Windows Insider channels used to target specific Windows 10 versions, with the Beta channel targeting the next version, sometimes called vNext, and the Dev channel targeting the version after that. However, Microsoft silently shifted its strategy last year and hasn’t provided any information at all about why or when this might change again.

And so the Dev channel targets no particular version of Windows 10; the features Microsoft adds to this channel over time could appear in any coming version of Windows 10, or they could disappear entirely. There are literally no promises.

And the Beta channel has stuck with Windows 10 version 20H2 for some reason. So testers in this channel are now testing updates to that product version ahead of their public (stable) release.

This is a problem on many levels, the most obvious of which is the vagueness of this program as it now stands and why anyone would even want to be involved. In the past, testers could explicitly choose a channel secure in the knowledge that they were testing something specific and that that testing would wind down on a predictable schedule. That’s no longer the case.

Not helping matters, the Windows Insider program has long been a black hole of poor communications. I had hoped that when Panos Panay took over Windows last year and appointed a new head of the Insider program, we’d see improvements. But we haven’t. Instead, it’s gotten worse: This confusion has all happened since that change.

What we need, of course, is clear communication, and not just from the Insider team but from Panay and Windows more broadly. Every little bit of information helps. And this isn’t just some selfish personal need, Microsoft’s corporate customers require predictability as well. Dear God, Microsoft. Communicate.

Anyway, Windows 10 version 21H1 is a thing. Great. Now tell us about Windows 10 version 21H2 and Windows 10X. Please.