SOLVED: Windows 10 Version 21H2: Release Date, Features, Whats New & What’s Next

Unless you have been living in a box, you know that Windows 11 is now generally available as a free upgrade to all those with Windows 10, but that does not mean that Microsoft has stopped development of Windows 10.  Many Windows 10 PC’s cannot run Windows 11 without a kludge so Microsoft has committed to providing full support with upgrades and patches through October 14, 2025.

While Microsoft releases fixes on the second Tuesday of every month (patch Tuesday), they also release two major updates to Windows every years.  21H1 was releases in April of 2021 (i.e. H1 of 2021… get it?), and they are about to release Windows 10 21H2 as build 19044.

That being said, Win10 21H2 will have far fewer new features than previous major updates because MS is putting much of their focus on Windows 11.

Windows 10 Version 21H2 Release Date:

Windows 10 Version 21H2 is scheduled to be released to the general public before the end of November 2021 although they still have not set a specific date set yet.

Windows 10 Version 21H2 New Features:

Microsoft has said there will be only 3 new features in 21H2 Windows 10:

1. Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) will now provide GPU compute support for Nvidia CUDA and DirectML which allows Machine Learning AI using the graphics card .  The update will also improve Windows Hello integration and provide some performance tweaks
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2. WPA3 H2E (Hash-to-Element) standard will be fully implemented to block password steeling hacks developed by hacker collective known as DragonBlood.
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3. For corporate users, Windows Hello for Business will support something called Cloud Trust which Microsoft will not release until early in 2022.  Cloud Trust will dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to have a new PC join Azuer Active Directory (AAD) by running a single PowerShell script to create a trust from AAD to AD.

Other than these three new features, there are the usual batch of fixes that are needed but go unnoticed by the majority of users:

• fixed an issue with copying and pasting a text box into Office 365 apps
• fixed an issue with using the robocopy command with the backup option (/B) to fix data loss. This issue occurs when the source location contains tiered Azure File Sync files or tiered Cloud Files.
• enabled over 1400 new mobile device management (MDM) policies.
• fixed a known issue that might prevent the successful installation of printers using the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP).
• fixed an issue that might cause an external monitor to display a black screen after Hibernation

All these fixes and new features in Windows 10 Version 21H2 will also be coming to Windows 10 Version 21H1 so there is little need to upgrade at all.

Windows 10 Version 22H1 – Whats Next For Win10

Unlike 21H2, 22H1 (i.e. H1 of 2022… get it?) is expected to have two very important new features:

1. Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) – This will let you run Android apps on Windows 10 (and Windows 11)
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2. Windows 11 Store in Windows 10 – This will let you download and install Android apps on Windows 10 (and Win11) directly from the store.

How To Tell What Version of Windows You Are On?

If you want to figure out exactly what version and build of Windows you are using:

1. Click START
2. Type WINVER and press the enter key

Summary of Win10 21H2

So Windows 10 21H2 (aka. fall update 2021) is a bust for anyone waiting for something really cool, unless you play with AI in Linux on Windows.

If you can get to Windows 11, do it because that is where the heavy lifting is being done on new features these days.  But before you get your expectations too high watch our short video Real Windows 11 Performance Improvements: The Good The Bad & The Ugly