Microsoft’s next update won’t carry a shiny new number, as the long-rumoured Windows 12 is off the table in favour of prolonging the current operating system. Dubbed Windows 11 Version 25H2, the next major patch targets an autumn rollout, effectively shelving the idea of a next-generation leap for the time being.
The announcement, quietly published via Microsoft’s Windows IT Pro blog, outlines version 25H2 as evolution over revolution, but we’ll soon be able to tell more as testers dig deeper. You can already try out the latest feature update via Insider Preview, provided you don’t mind bearing the brunt of its potential bugs.
“Today, Windows 11 version 25H2 became available to the Windows Insider community, in advance of broader availability planned for the second half of 2025,” Microsoft’s Principal Product Manager, Jason Leznek, writes. “Get ready for a reset of the 36-month support lifecycle for Enterprise and Education editions and the 24-month lifecycle for Pro, Pro Education, and Pro for Workstation editions!”
Microsoft notes that the update will build on the same Germanium platform as version 24H2, and will ship as an enablement package. In layman’s terms, that means this is more of a structural update, quick to install and designed to extend support Windows with minimal disruption. It’s apparently “as easy as restarting.”
The blog post itself is light on user-facing feature details, instead focusing on under-the-hood changes, enterprise servicing continuity, and testing timelines. However, possible additions down the line include more customisation for Start Menu and AI-assisted features baked into Settings. These remain speculative and unconfirmed at this stage, with Microsoft likely to drip-feed updates through Insider builds as release windows approach.
It’s a move that immediately resets expectations for anyone anticipating a bold new era of Windows. Leaked documents and vendor roadmaps previously suggested a pivot to Windows 12 sometime this year in order to capitalise on growing AI momentum and encourage uptake of modern hardware, but this is something we see practically every year without confirmation. Microsoft has yet to come out and formalise development of a successor, but with version 25H2 now on the horizon, that prospect has been pushed back at least another year.
The general sentiment around the news is a bit lukewarm with many on Reddit and X questioning the relevance of the name anyway. Microsoft takes a Windows as a Service approach these days, and short of an entirely new platform, it’s difficult for the company to justify a generational name change. If nothing else, keeping the same cadence means we know what lies on the horizon for the foreseeable.
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