Microsoft Announces 21H2, Next Windows 10 Feature Update

Here is a good news for Windows 10 users. Microsoft has officially announced about 21H2 which will be the next (and may be the last, who knows?) feature update for Windows 10 operating system.

21H2 feature update will be a minor update (as many people expected) and will be delivered in form of a regular cumulative update via Windows Updates later this year, most probably in October month.

Recently when Microsoft announced about Windows 11, the new upcoming version of Windows operating system, many people were worried about the future of Windows 10. What will happen to Windows 10? Will Windows 10 continue receiving new feature updates or not?

Actually Windows 11 will come with high-end hardware requirements and lots of existing Windows 10 devices will not be compatible or supported by Windows 11 as they do not contain required hardware such as TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, RAM, HDD space, processor model, etc.

Related: Windows 11 Minimum System Requirements or Hardware Specifications

If a Windows 10 machine meets Windows 11 system requirements, it’ll be upgraded to Windows 11 for free once Windows 11 is released to public later this year.

Related: Windows 10 Users will Get Free Upgrade to Windows 11, Here is How to Check?

But if a Windows 10 device doesn’t fulfill Windows 11 system requirements, it’ll NOT be upgraded to Windows 11. In such situation, Windows 10 users will be forced to use the same operating system until and unless they change or upgrade their system hardware.

If your Windows 10 computer is not compatible with Windows 11, you don’t need to worry. Windows 10 will be supported by Microsoft till October 14, 2025. So you can keep using Windows 10 in your computer in coming years without any problem. Microsoft will keep releasing security and other updates for Windows 10.

Now since Microsoft has announced 21H2 feature update for Windows 10, there is a small hope that Microsoft may release more feature updates for Windows 10 in future.

21H2 will be a small update similar to previous features updates such as 20H2 and 21H1. You can consider it as a small service pack for Windows 10.

21H2 will come with following features and changes:

• Wi-Fi Improvements: WPA3 H2E standards support for enhanced Wi-Fi security
• Windows Hello Improvements: Windows Hello for Business supports simplified passwordless deployment models for achieving a deploy-to-run state within a few minutes
• WSL Improvements: GPU compute support in the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) deployments for machine learning and other compute intensive workflows

21H2 feature update will be available for download and install later this year i.e. second half of 2021. We can expect Windows 10 21H2 and Windows 11 release together.

Home and Pro editions of 21H2 will receive 18 months of servicing. On the other hand, Enterprise and Education editions will have 30 months of servicing. In addition, the next version of Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) based on version 21H2 will also be released at the same time and it will have five years of servicing.

Microsoft has also started releasing testing builds of Windows 10 21H2 to Windows Insiders. You can start testing 21H2 on Release Preview channel, if you are registered in Windows Insider Program:

Windows 10 21H2 Insider Preview Build Available for Download

We’ll list all changes present in all 21H2 builds in following exclusive article for your convenience:

Windows 10 21H2 Feature Update Changelog

Also Check:

Download and Upgrade to Latest Windows 10 Feature Update

[Guide] Things to Do After Installing Feature Update in Windows 10

How to Prevent or Skip Feature Update Installation in Windows 10