As stated, hints of the status of the upcoming update for the Windows 10 platform were found in a recent cumulative update that began rolling out to members of the Microsoft Insider Program last week. After installing this update, one of the insiders found the element ‘ Microsoft-Windows-21H1Enablement-Package-31bf3856ad364e35 ~ amd64 ~~ 0.0.0.0 in the registry“. This element indicates that the upcoming 21H1 update, due in the first half of this year, will be minor. As a rule, such updates are delivered to users’ computers along with monthly rollup packages and remain in a deactivated state until a certain point. After that, Microsoft only needs to distribute the activator, which installs updates and launches new functions, if their introduction is planned.

It’s worth noting that for Microsoft, launching two minor Windows 10 service packs in a row is an unprecedented move. In the past, Microsoft has always rotated the release of functional updates with packages that bring minor changes and general fixes. It looks like the situation will change this year. In part, this may be due to the fact that Microsoft is preparing to release the largest update to the Windows 10 user interface and is taking longer to test it than originally anticipated.

Since the 21H1 update will be minor, its distribution will likely start earlier than usual. The source says that Microsoft may start rolling out the update in April or even March this year, while in the past it happened in May.