Windows 10 Redstone update delayed for another year

Microsoft needs more time to make its first major update to Windows 10

The Redstone update for Windows 10 is to be delayed by another year in order to cash in on the next wave of devices, according to reports.

Redstone was originally expected this summer, and will be a significant update to Windows 10 - somewhere between a Windows 10.1 and a Windows 11.

However, Microsoft "expert" Mary Jo Foley has reported that the company is now planning to wait until spring next year to take advantage of the devices likely to make up the bulk of the CES class of 2017.

These devices will more than likely use Intel's next-generation Kaby Lake microprocessors, which will be announced later this year.

Microsoft has a new policy of withdrawing support for specific chipsets after a set period, in a classic case of built-in obsolescence, so waiting for the next generation of Intel chips ought to maximise their lifespan and reduce Microsoft's support costs.

Behind the headlines, it may be that Redstone needs more time to refine. The recent Fast Ring version has caused problems with freezing on Microsoft Surface devices, which is a small glitch, but such glitches can add up and all need to be ironed out before public release, so more time can only be a good thing.

Speculatively, it could also give Microsoft a neat line in the sand to have one last stab at getting Windows 10 Mobile, and therefore Continuum, right.

The mobile platform has been dogged by problems and is still available only on a handful of devices eight months after the launch of the desktop platform. Engineers will want to iron out all these bugs before releasing Redstone.

As such, some sort of soft relaunch around Redstone could be a smart move. It could even be the point when we quietly lose the numbering altogether, as Windows-as-a-service reaches the next stage of simply becoming Windows.