Patch Tuesday is killing the excitement for Windows feature updates

On March 26, Microsoft began rolling out the latest non-security preview update for Windows 11 25H2 and 24H2. For those unaware, this is an optional download that will eventually be made available to all eligible customers via the Patch Tuesday update next month, on April 8. The change log for this release is enormous, and while that sounds great on paper, it also signifies a bigger problem with Windows releases in general.

The upcoming Patch Tuesday update brings loads of features, such as support for 1000Hz+ displays, improvements for File Explorer, and performance boosts for Settings, among a lot of other things. There hardly seems to be a Windows component that Microsoft hasn't touched in this release. The problem? It leaves little space for Windows feature updates to make any significant splash.

For the past few years, Windows feature updates have been kind of boring. Although they are meant to be annual rollouts in the form of H2 updates like 24H2 and 25H2, and you would think that they would contain the bulk of upgrades, that hasn't been the case for a long while. As it currently stands, feature updates only "light up" minor features that have been already seeded in previous Patch Tuesday updates. What Microsoft does is that it integrates minor capabilities into the OS through monthly updates in a disabled state and then simply toggles their flag come feature update time. So the feature update itself doesn't introduce new features, in fact, you could even enable them by yourself through some sleuthing rather than waiting for Microsoft to pull the trigger.

I remember lamenting this problem with Windows 10 version 22H2 in 2022 too, and unfortunately, the situation really hasn't improved much since then. Then with Windows 11, prior to rolling out the full 23H2 update too, Microsoft began drip-feeding new features through "Moment" updates. With 24H2, Microsoft killed off this Moments approach, and our Editor Taras Buria also complained how it's become difficult to track new features because they land via cumulative updates or enablement packages throughout the year.

Personally, I think that Patch Tuesday updates should be reserved primarily for fixes, performance improvements, and security updates, while feature updates should be maintained for any changes made to the UI or the UX. For example, if Microsoft is making a performance improvement to File Explorer (it's long overdue), it should be a Patch Tuesday release. But if the company is rebuilding components of the UX, it should be reserved for an H2 feature update.

Rushing to push new features in monthly updates can have other adverse effects too, such as the lack of time to properly test and validate new releases. I have talked about this in detail before but a very recent example of this relates to Microsoft pulling its feature-packed preview update for this month due to installation errors. That's a pretty big blunder that could have been avoided with a more predictable release cadence.

The way things stand right now, I, as a consumer doesn't care or know about the difference between a March 2026 Patch Tuesday versus a 26H2 feature update. That doesn't mean that Microsoft should do away with feature updates completely as that is important for RTM purposes, generating excitement among consumers, as well as maintaining easily understandable support cycles, I just want there to be a large enough distinction between the two. A feature update should download and install new features, it's as simple as that.

Of course, if new features only land via feature updates, the release cadence for UX updates would be relatively slow. However, based on my experience in the field as well as anecdotal evidence, people want a stable, reliable, and performant OS, rather than one which just crams new Copilot features each month. My proposed approach isn't perfect, but it should at least make both release cycles more reliable and also give consumers another chance to be excited about Windows version updates.