Microsoft's Windows 10 Anniversary Update begins rolling out

It's August 2: the day Microsoft officials said to expect the Windows 10 Anniversary Update release to begin rolling out across various device types.

And as of about 1 pm ET today, the Anniversary Update rollout did, in fact, begin in earnest.

The Anniversary Update, also known as 1607 (for July 2016) and/or Build 14393, is the latest collection of fixes and features for Windows 10. It is the second feature update Microsoft made available to Windows 10 since initially delivering the operating system on July 29, 2015. (The first update was in mid-November 2015.)

As of last month, Microsoft's goal was to release Windows 10 Anniversary, codenamed Redstone 1, simultaneously in its various flavors: PCs, tablets, Windows Phones, Surface Hubs, Xbox One consoles, and HoloLens. In the weeks since, officials have said the release would be staggered, without offering further specifics as to how.

I'm hearing that the first users to get Anniversary Update via Windows Update will be those with the newest hardware, BIOSes, and firmware. Those who may encounter compatibility issues because of drivers may get it slightly later through Windows Update, my contacts said.

Microsoft actually delivered some of the Anniversary Update features for Xbox One on July 30.

On August 1, Microsoft made Windows 10 Anniversary Update available to its volume licensees in the Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center. It also made the Anniversary Update code available to its reseller partners via its Partner Portal yesterday.

MSDN users can get the Anniversary Update bits on August 2. Microsoft officials said a week ago to expect Microsoft to make Anniversary Update ISOs available August 2. The Media Creation Tool seems to now be updated to include the Anniversary Update release.

Update: The Windows 10 Anniversary Update Software Development Kit (SDK) is available now, too. Using this SDK, Win32 app developers can now use Microsoft's "Project Centennial"desktop converter tool to bring their apps to the Windows Store if they so choose.

What about Windows Server 2016, which shares a lot of code with Windows client?

I've heard from some contacts that Microsoft RTM'd Server 2016 last week. But officials said recently they are not planning to launch Windows Server 2016 until late September at the company's Ignite conference, and to make it generally available around early October. I'm not sure if there is any reason for the lag beyond wanting to make Ignite the launch vehicle for the product.

Update No. 2: A few more tidbits about the Windows 10 Anniversary Update rollout schedule:

• Microsoft will make Windows 10 Anniversary Long Term Servicing Branch media available on October 1.
• Those using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and/or System Center Configuration Manager servicing plans will be able to get the Windows 10, version 1607 update on August 16.
• The Windows 10 Mobile version of the Anniversary Update is not rolling out today, as Thurrott.com's Paul Thurrott reported. But anyone running the latest Windows 10 Insider Preview of Windows 10 Mobile already has what's considered RTM (Build 14393).