computing Tech Radar Windows

Microsoft could be working on the next update for Windows 11 – but 25H2 could end up being a disappointment

April 25, 2025
admin

Click here to visit Original posting

  • Fresh clues about the 25H2 update have been uncovered
  • References in a file mention 25H2 and tie it to preview builds in the 26200 range that were recently kicked off by Microsoft
  • As 26200 is a small increment from previous 26100 builds, it is likely the 25H2 update will be a minor affair in the form of an ‘enablement package’

More clues have been picked up suggesting that Microsoft is indeed working on Windows 11 25H2 – speculation which was first fired up last month – and that it’s likely to be a relatively minor update.

Windows Latest noticed that one of the more regular leakers of Microsoft-related info on X, XenoPanther, spotted what’s apparently a reference to the 25H2 update in a recent preview build of Windows 11.

The reference to ‘GE25H2’ is present in a DLL file, and that stands for ‘Greater than or Equal to 25H2’ and there’s another mention of 25H2 which specifically connects it to the series of builds numbered from 26200.

Windows Latest has verified this, and notes that the ‘appraiser’ DLL in question pertains to checking whether a PC qualifies for the upgrade. In other words, this is part of the code that verifies whether any given system is compatible and okay to have 25H2 installed.

Asus Zenbook A14 laptop at Windows login screen

(Image credit: Future / Jasmine Mannan)

Analysis: Probably an enablement package for 25H2?

All of this is in theory, of course, as Microsoft hasn’t said that it’s working on Windows 11 25H2 officially, or even mentioned the name at all.

What Microsoft has told us, back in March if you recall, is that it is making “behind-the-scenes platform changes” in the new preview builds in the 26200 range. And as noted above, 26200 is mentioned and tied to 25H2 specifically in this DLL file.

Those changes being made in the background are theorized to be tweaks to the platform that underpins the desktop OS, which was refreshed to a new model called Germanium with Windows 11 24H2. As another leaker, Zac Bowden, informed us last month, it’s very likely that all this is wrapped up with laying the early groundwork for 25H2, which could be a much more minor update compared to 24H2, which was a huge undertaking (with that shift to Germanium).

The change from the previous 26100 builds to the 26200 range is a small increment, suggesting that 25H2 will be an equally scaled-down update. Indeed, as Windows Latest points out, it’ll probably be what’s called an ‘enablement package’ in the same way that 23H2 was built on 22H2. This simply means any new features (doubtless a small number of them) are already in place in Windows 11, and will simply be enabled by the update.

All of this is guesswork at this point, although with this new leak, it seems just a tad more likely that this is how things will unfold.

The potentially good news on 25H2 being a lesser update is that with fewer changes, there should be fewer bugs, too. The 24H2 update has proven seriously problematic with gremlins in the works partly because of all the tinkering going on deep in the guts of Windows 11 that was required to usher in the Germanium platform.

You might also like...