Windows 11 version 24H2 is now official, a big feature update coming later this year

Windows 11 version 24H2 is now official. Although complete changelogs and exact dates are still a mystery, Microsoft has said that its operating system will receive a big annual feature update later this year under the "version 24H2" moniker, confirming the recently spotted reference to version 24H2 in the official documentation.

The company published the announcement in the release notes for Windows 11 build 26052, which was pushed out in the Dev and Canary Channels on January 8, 2024. From now on, builds 26XXX are labeled as version 24H2 in the Settings app and winver. If you are already on 26052, press Win + R and type winver to see it yourself.

Starting with Build 26-xx today, Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About (and winver) to version 24H2. This denotes that Windows 11, version 24H2 will be this year’s annual feature update. As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.

The announcement of Windows 11 version 24H2 as this year's annual feature update also shows that we probably should not expect anything beyond that in 2024. This month, the "Moment 5" update will bring a few small changes, with much more coming in version 24H2. Everything else, including the rumored Windows 12 (if that is even a thing), should be left for 2025 and later. Despite the expected arrival of groundbreaking AI features, Windows 11 will remain Windows 11 for a while.

In case you missed it, users recently discovered a notable jump in build numbers in Microsoft's internal Canary Channel. 27547 now exists, but the public arrival of builds 27XXX might take some time.

You can find all the changes in the latest Windows 11 preview build 26052 in our dedicated coverage. There are also some hidden features and taskbar improvements, so be sure to check them as well.

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