Microsoft confirms 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10, reducing download package size

Earlier this week, Microsoft released the latest non-security preview update for Windows 10 22H2. In the update's changelog, Microsoft mentions that the latest Latest Cumulative Update (LCU) "will no longer have reverse differences", which will reduce the package size. download.

Today, Microsoft posted a new blog entry with additional information about this change. As it turns out, the Windows team is using features first created for Windows 11 to reduce download sizes for new Windows 10 updates.

Microsoft first explained how the company's engineering team is reducing Windows 11 download package sizes in October 2021, stating:

For system version data that requires forward and reverse delta pairs, 'making backward update data' provides a way to efficiently distribute forward delta to the machine, and requires the machine to maintain a path back to the state. initial state. Microsoft has successfully used this method in Windows 11, reducing the update package size by 40%.

Today's blog post says the Windows development team is now "bringing similar functionality to Windows 10, version 22H2." As a result, users will see the download package size decrease quite a bit. The Windows 11 "Patch Tuesday" update released on April 9 has a capacity of about 830MB. A non-security update released earlier this week for Windows 10 reduced the download package size to just 650MB. This reduction in LCU packet size provides several key benefits such as reduced bandwidth usage, faster downloads, reduced network traffic, and improved performance on slow connections.

After nearly nine years of active development and support, it's time for Microsoft to release the final version of Windows 10. 22H2 is officially the last version of Windows 10 that Microsoft releases to the public, expected to end support on October 14, 2025.

This announcement means you should not expect further feature upgrades for Windows 10 to be released in the near future. However, Microsoft will certainly continue to offer Windows 10 Enterprise, Education, Home, and Pro SKUs with monthly security patches and periodic minor bug fixes. As for current LTSC releases, they will remain supported after October 14, 2025, as described in Microsoft's official documentation.

Microsoft confirms 22H2 is the final version of Windows 10, reducing download package size Picture 1

Additionally, Microsoft announced plans to release the first Windows LTSC package. Windows 11-based Long-Term Servicing Channel (Enterprise and Enterprise IoT) is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2024, meaning companies now have enough time to plan and deploy the upgrade. from Windows 10 to 11. Microsoft said it will share more information when updates are scheduled for release.

Microsoft has repeated many times that they definitely have not abandoned Windows 10, at least not in the next few years. One thing that Windows 10 users can rest assured about is that the operating system will continue to receive regular feature updates and patches from Microsoft for about another year.

Lesley Montoya

Update 25 April 2024