Microsoft confirms 19H2 as Windows 10 November 2019 Update

Microsoft has confirmed that the next major update to its Windows 10 operating system will be based on the Windows Insider Build 18363.418, and will launch next month as the Windows 10 November 2019 Update - barring any major issues between now and then.

Known internally as 19H2, the second Windows 10 Feature Update is set to come with a number of enhancements over the Windows 10 May 2019 Update release - but it's the way the software is to be delivered that is the biggest change. 'To deliver these updates in a less disruptive fashion, we will deliver this feature update in a new way, using servicing technology (like the monthly update process) for customers running the May 2019 Update who choose to update to the new release,' Microsoft's John Cable wrote back in July. 'In other words, anyone running the May 2019 Update and updating to the new release will have a far faster update experience because the update will install like a monthly update.'

Originally, 19H2 had been scheduled for September; we're now in October, and following a string of issues with recent Windows patches including CPU-draining bugs and Start Menu issues the company has denied are actually issues it appears that Microsoft was pushing the release further and further back. Now, we have a month, at least: 19H2 will launch as the Windows 10 November 2019 Update.

'We are now getting the Windows 10 November 2019 Update (19H2) ready for release,' Microsoft's Brendan LeBlanc writes on the company's Windows Blog. 'We believe that Build 18363.418 is the final build and we will continue to improve the overall experience of 19H2 on customers’ PCs as part of our normal servicing cadence. Build 18363.418 includes all of the latest 19H2 features as well as the latest fixes included as part of KB4517389. Windows Insiders in the Release Preview ring already have this build, so no action is needed from them to get this build.'

The Windows 10 May 2019 Update, 19H1, had its own release issues including blocking installation altogether on devices with removable storage attached, though was considerably smoother than the Windows 10 October 2018 Update which was quickly pulled following a file-deleting bug and by late November was still blocked for some users.