Microsoft signals Windows 11’s next version will be a cinch to install

Microsoft formally announced the next version of Windows 11 on Friday, Windows 11 25H2, and indicated that the upgrade will be much simpler than its predecessor.

Windows 11 24H2 will be administered via what’s known as a “shared servicing branch,” which is the normal way for Windows to be updated. Microsoft simply takes the code that your machine lacks and sends it down to your PC via Windows Update, reducing the total download size by about 40 percent, Microsoft said.

In early 2025, Microsoft rolled out an update to Windows 11 24H2, which required a much more intensive process. Microsoft called that rollout a full code swap, and when I performed the upgrade myself, it took as long as just under two hours on an older machine. That process essentially swapped all of the existing code for a total update.

Since Microsoft is returning to a shared servicing branch, you can expect the update to move much more quickly. Essentially, Microsoft is saying that it will quietly download the Windows 11 25H2 components, then turn them on via an enablement package. Once the code is enabled, all a user has to do is reboot to “turn on” the new code.

If you go to Windows Settings > System > About, you can see the new version, Microsoft said.

Microsoft didn’t say when Windows 11 25H2 will officially roll out, but history says that it will probably be in September or October.

Microsoft isn’t saying what new features will be rolled out as part of Windows 11 25H2. The company released two test builds for Windows 11 this week, one offering a dashboard for its Recall technology as a passkey integration with 1Password.