Big Windows 10 Update Release Set For Early November

Microsoft will release its first major Windows 10 update very early in November. At least, that’s the plan according to some Microsoft insiders who’ve provided reliable information about the company’s plans in the past.

Thurrott reports this week that Microsoft plans to release the first major Windows 10 update ever sometime early in November before the holiday shopping season. Windows 10 is the major operating system revamp that Microsoft launched at the end of June to help it energize the notebook market and make serious inroads on the tablet and 2-in-1 market.

According to the site’s sources, Microsoft is officially calling this first significant Windows 10 Update, Windows 10 Fall Update. Users will get the Windows 10 Fall Update absolutely free of charge, just like the free Windows 10 Update that Microsoft made available this July. Unlike that first Windows 10 upgrade, Microsoft plans to distribute Windows 10 Fall Update in an easier fashion. Officially, the upgrade will install like a security fix or patch. That’s big because some feared that Microsoft releasing big operating system updates regularly would require them to do complete installs on their PC a few times a year.

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Allegedly, users won’t have to install the version of Windows 10 that’s on their PCs now before installing the Windows 10 Fall Update. What’s more, Microsoft will finally make it easier for those still taking advantage of the free Windows 10 Update to get up and running. The Windows 10 Fall Update will let users unlock it with their product keys from Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 – no other hoops for product keys will be required.

After a device is updated to Windows 10 Fall Update it’ll return to it if the user decides to reset their machine using Windows 10’s built in recovery system. Microsoft will update the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool that it released earlier this summer too, allegedly.

The free Windows 10 Update has been available for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to download for months. The operating system also comes on new desktops, notebooks and tablets too. Microsoft has stopped forcing the Start Screen on users who have a mouse and keyboard. Instead, users get a Start Menu with windowed Windows Store apps when Tablet Mode is turned off. Tablets have the feature turned on by default, but owners of Windows 2-in-1s can switch between the two automatically or manually. Windows 10 also added refreshed apps for mail, contacts, calendar, music and a new web browser.

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Microsoft is staying quiet about the Windows 10 Fall Update for now, but we already know the features that it contains. Earlier this year Microsoft introduced the Windows Insider Program, a way for normal users at home to get their hands on new versions of the operating system as Microsoft is working on them internally.

Since July, Windows 10 Insiders have gotten Uber support for Cortana, Microsoft’s personal digital assistant. She can now compose text messages and alert users of missed calls when paired with a phone running Windows 10. Title Bar colors are now something that users can add themselves if their Windows Store apps don’t support them already. Under the hood changes to memory management make the operating system a bit faster, it seems. Microsoft has added Phone, Message and Skype video apps so that users can communicate using the company’s Skype calling and messaging service without installing an old-style Desktop app.

Microsoft has said publicly that it plans to release Windows 10 Updates with new features on a regular basis going forward. Users should receive bug fixes and performance enhancements regularly until the company rolls out its next major Windows 10 update. Rumors say that next significant Windows 10 Update will come next spring with Windows 10 Redstone.