- Windows 11 26H2 is here and Microsoft says it’s a “predictable and low-disruption update”
- There are users on social media who very much disagree, and are expressing their nervousness in varying degrees
- However, the 26H2 update could trigger the rollout of features that your PC hasn’t yet received, so it might prove very useful
Windows 11’s annual update has arrived, and while 26H2 doesn’t bring in notable new features, it should trigger the rollout of functionality from earlier this year – if you still don’t have some of those bits and pieces.
As Microsoft explains: “Windows 11 version 26H2 … delivers the latest Windows innovations with a streamlined update experience designed to minimize disruption and help you stay secure, productive, and up to date.”
As with last year’s update, this is what Microsoft calls a “small enablement package”, meaning it’s a minimal download with a quick installation that happens in a single reboot. All it’s effectively doing is flicking a switch to turn on some preloaded code, with no actual new features delivered as such.
There’s a key point to note here though, because as Microsoft says, this update “activates new features already included in the operating system through previous monthly servicing updates.”
So, if you haven’t yet had a feature rolled out to you – such as Microsoft’s change to more speedily load apps, or the ability to reposition the taskbar, or the various changes for the Start menu – applying the 26H2 update should ensure that anything missing reaches your PC.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that installing a new version of Windows 11 extends your support timeframe (through to October 2028 in the case of 26H2).
Analysis: skeptics aplenty
I say that installing version 26H2 should mean that any missing Windows 11 features are enabled on your PC, because obviously there’s no guarantee, but if you’ve been hankering after a particular piece of functionality, there’s a good chance you’ll get it by applying this upgrade (certainly with older features, anyway).
As ever, though, it’s never a great idea to rush to download any update, at least in my opinion, because of the danger that some unforeseen bug has crept in. Microsoft talks about this update being small and “designed to minimize disruption”, and it should be a clean enough installation in theory, but people have been burned before – and the reaction on Reddit shows that quite clearly.
Posting in response to Microsoft calling 26H2 a “predictable and low-disruption update”, one Redditor summed up the broad feeling in the thread by saying: “Well, now I’m really suspicious.” Another poster simply says: “Uh oh.”
And there are countless jokes or sarcastic barbs about how 26H2 will be just great because AI coded it, such as: “Don’t worry they told Copilot not to make any mistakes with this update.”
Another Redditor takes a similar attitude to myself: “I’ll wait 3 weeks and then see what the situation looks like before updating.”
There’s no need to jump right on this update, so it just seems prudent to hold fire for a short while and see if any annoying incidents happen that move the needle on the glitch-o-meter.
Let’s hope not, and then at some point later in October, you can apply version 26H2 and with any luck you’ll get any features that have missed out your PC in Microsoft’s rollout schedule. Speaking of which, it’s notable how many more folks are complaining about Windows 11 being very slow to deploy new capabilities this year, but that said, you can’t exactly blame Microsoft for being cautious given that bugs remain a big problem for its desktop OS.
Slowing down to a treacly pace with feature rollouts isn’t exactly an ideal solution, though, is it? Microsoft needs to address some more deep-seated issues with its testing processes here (and no, I won’t shut up about this until something is actually seen to be happening at the company in this regard).
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Darren Allan