Windows 11 version 25H2 is coming later this year, possible build number discovered

As we get closer to the middle of 2025, rumors about this year's Windows 11 update begin to surface on the internet. This time, the information was dug out straight from the latest Windows 11 preview build from the Canary Channel, which was released earlier this week.

@XenoPanther on X went through the code bits of build 27842, namely the AppraiserRes.dll file (one of the files that checks whether your PC is compatible with Windows 11 and various versions), and discovered mentions of GE25H2 with build number 26200.

For reference, GE stands for Germanium, one of Microsoft's codenames for development milestones. Microsoft moved Windows 11 to Germanium builds with the release of Windows 11 version 24H2 or "2024 Update," in the second half of last year. It was a full system update, unlike the previous release, version 23H2. The latter was a "small" enablement package that turned on new features while still being based on Windows 11 version 22H2.

Now, it looks like Windows 11 version 25H2 will repeat that scenario. Version 25H2 could land in the second half of 2025 as an enablement package, and a small bump in the build number (26200 vs 26100 in version 24H2) further backs this suggestion.

Having this year's feature update as a small enablement package might be good news to many Windows 11 users. There is a popular belief that version 24H2 is one of the least polished Windows 11 feature updates due to a large number of bugs and known issues that Microsoft is still patching to this day. Hopefully, version 25H2 will be a less problematic update to millions of people who will ditch Windows 10 as it gets closer to the end of mainstream support on October 14, 2025.

Of course, none of this is officially confirmed, and Microsoft has yet to announce Windows 11 version 25H2 and the way it plans to update users from the currently supported versions 23H2 and 24H2. Therefore, take these discoveries with a fair share of scepticism.

Source

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