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Microsoft looks to be preparing a new version of Windows 11 for release in the first half of 2026, based on a newer version of the Windows platform codenamed Bromine. Here's what we know.
Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of Windows 11, but this time things might be a little bit different. Instead of waiting until the second half of the year like most new version updates, Microsoft looks to be planning to ship the next version of Windows 11 much earlier, likely in the first half of 2026.
This is because the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon X2-based SoC and NVIDIA N1X platform requires platform changes that aren't currently available in version 25H2, and the work required to light up Snapdragon X2 and N1X devices appears to be part of the next Windows platform release, codenamed Bromine.
Release date
This is what the next version of Windows 11 will likely identify itself as.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
The next version of Windows 11 isn't expected to ship on Snapdragon X2 devices until the first half of 2026. It's based on the Bromine platform release, which is expected to be signed off internally sometime in November 2025. Once that's done, Microsoft will continue to fine tune and polish the base RTM build until the first devices are ready to ship with it.
General availability for this next release is unknown at this time. It's unclear if Microsoft intends to roll out Bromine to all Windows 11 PCs, or if this release will remain exclusive to Snapdragon X2 and N1X devices that require it, instead waiting to ship a 26H2 in the second half of 2026 for everyone else.
Microsoft is expected to sign-off on Bromine with an RTM build number of 28000. Microsoft doesn't always sign off a final build with a round number, and the last time it was done to this extent was with the original release of Windows 11 with build 22000.
New features
Thanks to Microsoft's current development strategy for Windows, most in-support versions of Windows 11 are often at feature parity with each other, even when based on different platform releases. This is expected to remain the case between Germanium and Bromine.
Platform updates
References to version 26H1 have been spotted in Microsoft update/rollback files recently.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Where things differ between platform releases is what's happening under the hood. Bromine is a much newer release of the Windows platform, and as such is likely more performant and efficient compared to the current version of Windows 11. We also know that it includes necessary changes that allow Snapdragon X2 devices to function.
This isn't the first time Qualcomm's next gen chips have required Microsoft to push forward a new version of the Windows platform. In 2024, Microsoft launched version 24H2 on the Germanium platform release, months before it was ready to roll out to all Windows 11 PCs. This is because Snapdragon X was launching in June, and required Germanium to function.
It seems like the same thing may be happening here. Bromine is launching early for Snapdragon X2, with general availability for everyone else happening sometime after.
Hope you enjoyed this news post. Feedback welcome.
Posted Saturday 8 November 2025 at 3:43 am AEST (my time).
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- Matt, andushi002 and jenyco2
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