Windows 10 V2004: Microsoft started to add 20H2 features

[German]There is new evidence that Microsoft has already begun to integrate features that are scheduled for the autumn update (development branch 20H2) into the Windows 10 version 2004 (May 2020 update), which is expected to be released for general release at the end of May 2020. This means that Windows 10 20H2, which is expected to be released in the fall, will again be a 'minor update'.

First hints on development found

At the weekend, two sites came to my attention where all this is discussed. The first hint can be found in the following Tweet.

The latest Windows 10 Version 2004 CU (.264) contains early hints towards the H2 update that's in the works. If a package called Microsoft-Windows-20H2Enablement is present while installing the newest CU, Version 2009, Build 19042 is what you'll be greeted with in winver. pic.twitter.com/co1CL22rQL

— Albacore (@thebookisclosed) May 16, 2020

Albacore writes that there are hints in the new Windows 10 version 2004 that features from the upcoming 20H2 are already integrated but not yet unlocked. If there was an enablement update when installing the latest cumulative update to .264, the new features would already be enabled. Then Winver would display build 19042.264. Build 19041.264 is the new RTM build of Windows 10 version 2004 (see Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19041.264 as new RTM). In the replies to the tweet there is a hint that build 19041.264 already has corresponding manifest files. 

The second source is this German article of the colleagues from deskmodder.de, which refers to the user Aboddi. He discovered by chance that with the cumulative KB4556803 (dated May 15th, 2020 for insiders testing Windows 10 version 2004) registry entries and manifest files are already delivered which are intended for the feature update (20H2) expected in autumn 2020. However, these entries and files are not yet active.

Feature update 20H2 will be a small update

This seems to confirm the speculation that the feature update Windows 10 20H2, which is expected in autumn 2020, will be a 'small update' again. I had already mentioned that in the blog post Windows 10 20H2 will (probably) be a minor Update.

What does 'small update' mean for Windows 10 20H2?

For blog readers who might not be so familiar with the subject, here are some explanations. Microsoft releases two feature updates every year, one in spring and one in autumn. In the past, these releases were released as feature updates for a long time – with the result that a fat, several gigabyte package had to be downloaded and installed from the Microsoft servers. In the process, Windows 10 is completely replaced.

Due to the bad experiences with feature updates in 2018, Microsoft 2019 took a new approach. The spring update (Windows 10 Version 1903) came – in the old familiar manner – as a full feature update. But the autumn update (Windows 10 Version 1909) was realized as a 'small feature update'. The code for the Windows 10 versions 1903 and 1909 is the same – even the same updates are used for both builds. Instead of downloading gigabytes of code for a feature update, Windows 10 version 1909 was rolled out as an enablement update. A small update package of about 500 kByte simply changes the version from 1903 to 1909. 

I had discussed some details about this in the blog post Windows 10 V1909 released, how to get this update? In November 2019 there was a mixer session with the Windows Insider team of Microsoft. I had prepared some information from this mixer cast in the blog post Insides: Windows 10 19H2 development/deployment (V1909). According to Brandon LeBlanc, it wasn't clear at that time whether Microsoft would continue to use the 190x version of Windows 10 in 2020. But in January 2020 the first rumors appeared that Microsoft would do the same with the upcoming Windows 10 versions (see my blog post Windows 10: Rumors about 20H2 and deprecated Stores).

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