Spring is one of two seasons when Microsoft typically releases a new feature update for Windows 10, and that means we will have another one soon. Microsoft has been testing the next feature update – known as version 21H1 – for some time and it should not be long before it becomes publicly available. As such, it’s time for another summary of what’s new in this update, but before we get into that, you may want to check out all the changes that were made to previous Windows 10 updates:
Switching to version 21H1, some background is needed here. In the past two years, Microsoft released a major feature update in the spring (see versions 1903 and 2004) and a minor update focused on refinements and minor improvements in the fall (versions 1909 and 20H2). These updates are provided through activation packages, which means that the actual bits in the autumn updates are the same as those in the spring update, but they have an activation package that makes certain features brighter. Spring and autumn updates each year receive exactly the same cumulative updates every month.
This time, however, the spring update – version 21H1 – is yet another update to the enabling package, which means that it is only illuminating certain changes that are already hidden in the 2004 and 20H2 versions. In fact, this is the smallest feature update that Windows 10 has had and can hardly be considered a “feature update”. He’s just here to align with Microsoft’s usual schedule for these updates. So, what exactly is new?
Windows Hello
First, there are improvements in Windows Hello so that if you have a device with an integrated Windows Hello camera, but connect another Windows Hello compatible camera, you can now set the external camera as the default for Windows Hello authentication. This can be useful, for example, if you buy a monitor with a built-in camera.
Windows Defender application protection
This update also includes performance improvements for Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG), including a fix for an issue where opening some Office documents can cause delays of more than a minute. This would happen if the file was accessed via a universal naming convention (UNC) path or SMB (Server Message Block) share link.
Robocopy performance has also been improved when copying files over 400 MB in size. Finally, an issue where a WDAG container can use almost 1 GB of memory while idle has been fixed.
Windows management instrumentation (WMI)
Finally, Microsoft made some improvements to the Group Policy Service in Windows Management Instrumentation to accommodate remote work scenarios. Before, it may take some time for changes in user groups or computers to propagate, which meant that the results of changes to group policies were not shown when the administrator tried to generate a report.
Yes, that is really all there is in this update, and you may have noticed that most of the changes have to do with remote work. Microsoft says it will not be releasing a major feature update this semester because of COVID-19, and the updates it has made are aimed at meeting its customers’ most urgent requests.
But another reason why there are no big features in this update is that Windows 10X was due to be released this spring, and Microsoft was determined to focus on that for now. Microsoft is saving the big changes for the fall update, including a visual overhaul of Windows 10, code-named Sun Valley. We recently saw some of these visual changes appear in new builds for Windows Insiders, like new icons found in places like the Settings app, new icons in File Explorer and a whole new experience for touch-sensitive keyboards.
However, some recent reports have pointed out that Windows 10X is also behind schedule and, as Microsoft has not communicated anything about it, it is not entirely clear what will happen with Windows 10 this year.
For now, Windows 10 version 21H1 should be released soon, and even if it does not bring much news, it should at least be safe to install, as it does not bring major changes. Microsoft says version 21H1 will remove the Edge Legacy browser from the operating system, but in reality, it is being removed from previous versions of Windows 10 with a cumulative update in April as well.
Are you planning to install Windows 10 version 21H1 as soon as it is available? Let us know in the comments.