Microsoft's Windows 10 Fall Creators Update rollout to kick off October 17
Microsoft officially confirmed on September 1 that its Windows 10 Fall Creators Update release will begin to roll out to mainstream users worldwide starting October 17.
Lenovo inadvertently revealed yesterday during a product launch at the IFA conference that the Fall Creators Update would arrive starting on October 17.
While some are quibbling that Microsoft is going to be a month late with the Fall Creators Update release, I don't see things that way -- despite the fact Microsoft officials said this year that the company is aiming to deliver two feature updates per year, around March and September, to Windows 10 client and Server, going forward.
As has been the case for the past couple of Windows 10 releases, Microsoft doesn't start delivering a new Windows 10 feature update the month that the build is marked as "done." The Windows 10 Creators Update, which is also known as 1703 (for March 2017) did not start rolling out until mid-April. Its predecessor, Windows 10 Anniversary Update, a k a 1607 for July 2016, didn't begin rolling out until August.
Microsoft still has yet to deem the Fall Creators Update as being feature-complete (or, as many of us still prefer to call it, RTM), but does plan to do so in September, hence its 1709 nomenclature. Microsoft also will designate a September build of Windows Server 2016's first feature update (1709) as its "launch" candidate, as the company plans to announce at its Ignite conference in late September. As "launch" and "release" don't always coincide with Microsoft products, Server 1709 also will likely begin rolling out to users in October.
Once Microsoft does decide Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is stable enough to ship, it will continue to update features and fix bugs in it. That means when users download the Fall Creators Update, they likely will also be downloading updates for it right off the bat, as well as in subsequent weeks and months.
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will include a number of new security features for enterprise users. It also includes support for the Windows Mixed Reality headsets that Microsoft OEM partners like Lenovo, Dell, HP, Acer and Asus are going to begin making commercially available starting October 17. The Fall Creators Update also will reintroduce the placeholders concept for OneDrive storage with OneDrive Files on Demand.
Microsoft also will be releasing another new Windows 10 edition, known as Windows 10 Pro for Workstations, simultaneously with the release of the Fall Creators Update. No upgrade pricing information is available so far, but I've heard there will be an upgrade path and fee from Windows 10 Home and/or Pro to Workstation.
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