Microsoft readies Windows 11 25H2 while Windows 10 circles the drain
- Reference: 1756818248
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/09/02/windows_11_25h2_preview/
- Source link:
Microsoft made the Windows 11 25H2 [1]announcement at the end of last week, noting that general availability would come "later this year."
The operating system shares the same servicing branch as the existing Windows 11 24H2, thus the installation is little more than an enablement package, which will activate new features that are already downloaded but inactive. Microsoft took the same approach with Windows 11 22H2 and 23H2.
[2]
Some features will be going away with Windows 11 25H2, notably PowerShell 2.0. However, admins will also be able to remove pre-installed Microsoft Store apps via Group Policy. The presence of the build in the Release Preview channel also provides an opportunity for admins to review the code before it becomes generally available.
[3]
[4]
Unsurprisingly, there was no mention of Windows 12 in the Windows 11 25H2 announcement.
Also missing were official figures on the current state of Windows 11 adoption. Statcounter's [5]monthly figures for Windows market share appear to show the gap narrowing between Windows 11 and its predecessor, which is due to lose free support for many versions next month.
[6]HP bottom line fattens up on a diet of AI PCs and Windows 11
[7]Windows Mobile Plans app to be disconnected in 2026
[8]How Windows 11 is breaking from its bedrock and moving away
[9]Windows Backup for Organizations doesn't actually save data files
According to Statcounter, the market share of Windows 11 stood at 49.08 percent while Windows 10 was 45.53 percent. The newer OS therefore remains ahead, and the overall trend continues to point toward a Windows 11 future despite a few ups and downs along the way.
In the US, Windows 11 continued to grow against Windows 10, with a market share of almost 60 percent, while Windows 10's share dipped below 40 percent. Elsewhere in the world, things don't look so good for Microsoft. According to Statcounter, Windows 10 remains the dominant desktop operating system in Europe.
[10]
One possible explanation for the difference in performance is a tariff-driven surge in PC purchasing in the US. It is also important to note that Statcounter's code is only installed on approximately 1.5 million websites – just a small fraction of the more than [11]1.2 billion websites worldwide . However, in the absence of official figures from Microsoft, the numbers serve as a guide to the company's progress with its flagship operating system.
With just over a month remaining until many versions of Windows 10 finally drop out of support, a Windows 11 surge has yet to appear in any meaningful way, indicating that Windows 10 users have already factored in the costs of Enterprise Security Updates (ESU). Or not. ESU can, after all, be obtained for free – [12]sort of – for some users. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://blogs.windows.com/windows-insider/2025/08/29/releasing-windows-11-version-25h2-to-the-release-preview-channel/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aLcUlU2sOwwjdIpMmXayYQAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aLcUlU2sOwwjdIpMmXayYQAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aLcUlU2sOwwjdIpMmXayYQAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://gs.statcounter.com/windows-version-market-share/desktop/worldwide
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/29/hp_ai_pc_windows_11/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/29/windows_mobile_plans/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/29/opinion_windows_11/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/27/windows_backup_organizations/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aLcUlU2sOwwjdIpMmXayYQAAAAU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://siteefy.com/how-many-websites-are-there/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/25/microsoft_free_esu_tier/
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: "the installation is little more than an enablement package"...
That depends on your outlook. I do remember the sixteen million versions of Vista but, at the same time, it allows updates to be rolled out quickly once the new features have been verified as stable. That way, they can trickle new code out slowly without breaking everything for everyone if one part proves problematic.
Further, if you're on a particularly poor connection it saves one big lump of downloads (the counter being that your connection gets slowly used all the time, possibly with code that will never get enabled). It also spreads out the time to install updates (the counter being that it fills your drive.
While it is potentially abusable, it's not quite the same as a car manufacturer replacing a simple switch and relay on a heated seat with a signal that goes through a computer which only turns your heated seat on if you pay up.
Re: "the installation is little more than an enablement package"...
"... once the new features have been verified as stable"
You haven't been paying much attention to Microsoft's actions over the past few years, have you?
Sooo... someone point me to the registry-hack workaround or whatever it will be. There's obviously going to be one.
I'd hardly call 45% 'circling the drain'. However an indication of share change over the last 12 months would have been nice. gs.statcounter.com doesn't seem to work properly here - either edge or vivaldi.
Hmm. Works fine on FF. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-version-market-share/windows/desktop/worldwide
Interesting upticks in Win 7 and Win 10 and downtick in W11 from July to August
Not great reporting this
It seems to be downplaying how poor this is for Microsoft. Some of us remember the days when there were queues to get the latest OS.
Win 11 has been foisted onto the users for almost 4 years now. A great many PCs have been replaced since then. Any corporate PC older than a year or so at that launch date should probably have churned to an 11 machine by now anyway. An awful lot more have been downgraded to 11 due to MS' sleight of hand or simply through inertia.
And still 11 is largely hanging on the vine.
It's by no means ubiquitous - which by now it bloody well should have been if people wanted it- MS're pushing it onto us for free ffs.
admins will also be able to remove pre-installed Microsoft Store apps via Group Policy.
But not consumers, I expect. Consumers have to put up with as much bloatware as Redmond deems they deserve.
Suckers!
Linux rules!
Most "features" added in recent years suck.
"the installation is little more than an enablement package"...
And this is what the future of MS is going to look like isn't it ?
Nickel-and-diming customers by eventually putting features behind a paywall...