After speculating on whether the next generation of Windows will be Windows 12, Microsoft finally confirmed on Friday that the next version of Windows 11, which will be released later this year, will be the 25H2 version.At the same time, the first preview version has been pushed to Windows Insider project members, meaning Insider users can already experience the early version of 25H2.
"Today, Windows 11 version 25H2 is open to the Windows Insider community, and the full release is expected to take place in the second half of 2025," said Jason Leznek, head of product management at Microsoft.
From a technical point of view, Windows 11 25H2 is not a major upgrade.It uses the same platform version and service stack as 24H2, which means upgrading from 24H2 to 25H2 is "as simple as a quick restart", and it takes no different from installing a normal cumulative update.This transition process is significantly simplified and faster than the "operating system replacement" process experienced when upgrading from 23H2 to 24H2.
New features for 25H2 will be added to the 24H2 version later
Although Microsoft has released its first preview version of the 25H2, there are currently no new exclusive features or changes.In fact, the update log for this version is exactly the same as the 24H2 preview released by the Beta channel.However, new features will obviously be launched one after another. Like the previous version, Microsoft plans to develop these features for the 25H2 version and eventually provide them to the 24H2 version, and maybe even the 23H2 version.
Leznek said: "The new features we developed for Windows 11 version 25H2 are actually part of the 24H2 branch. After the new code is completed, we will include it in the monthly cumulative update of Windows 11 24H2 in a "disabled" state." This approach is actually not new. Microsoft has also adopted the method of sharing platforms and code between Windows 11 22H2 and multiple Windows 10 versions.
The release of the 25H2 version may coincide with the official support termination time of Windows 10
There is currently no clear timetable to explain when 25H2 will be fully pushed, but the outside world generally speculates that the release time may fall in September or October this year.The reason is that this coincides with another important node: official Windows 10 support will be officially terminated in October 2025.Microsoft has been actively promoting users to upgrade to Windows 11 in recent years, so the release of 25H2 this time may also be seen as an important move to encourage user transition.
In addition, the 25H2 version will reset the support cycle of the Enterprise version to 35 months, and the support cycle of the Consumer version and Professional version to 24 months.This means that if you want your computer to get support for as long as possible, it is best to update to that version when the 25H2 release is released later this year.
