Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) Now Officially Released

As a part of Semi-Annual Channel release, Microsoft has officially released the second feature update for year 2020. It is the stable release of development branch 20H2 and named as Windows 10 October 2020 Update. The initial build of stable 20H2 is 19042. This means you can now upgrade your existing version to Version 20H2.

Image credits: Microsoft.

Windows 10 October 2020 Now Officially Released

Starting from October 20, 2020, the Windows 10 October 2020 Update is available initially to users who frequently check for updates via Windows Update. Alternatively, you can download it manually via following channels:

• Via official Windows 10 ISO download page.
• Via your Visual Studio Subscription.
• Using Software Download Center (either via Update Assistant or the Media Creation Tool).
• Via Volume Licensing Service Center at microsoft.com/vlsc.

If you download the 20H2 ISO file, you can use this guide to upgrade your existing version. You can also make clean install by creating a bootable USB, as usual.

What’s New In Windows 10 October 2020

Following are the highlights of Windows 10 October 2020 Update:

• Chromium based Microsoft Edge comes pre-installed with this update.
• Introduces theme-aware tiles in Start Menu.
• You can use ALT+TAB to rotate between not only your open apps but also between the tabs in Microsoft Edge.
• Improved to Settings app, more settings and options imported from Control Panel.
• Improvements to notifications, such as toast notifications can show app logo so you can easily identify which app sent you notification.
• You can now change the refresh rate of your display.
• Microsoft Defender Application Guard now supports Office, so you get Defender’s advanced protection while working on Office documents.

So these were some of the important changes with Version 20H2. To learn about these changes in detail plus others, check out this official Microsoft post on TechCommunity.

Those users currently on Version 2004, if you’ve installed KB4571756 (19041.508) and KB4579311 (19041.572), you might have already received new features of 20H2 via ‘enablement package’. However, those features should be in inactive and dormant state. You can activate those features using enablement package update, read more in this article.

Hope you enjoy 20H2!