Windows 10 next major update Redstone 2 will apparently land in March 2017

'Version 1703' cited in existing system files

Windows 10's next major update - codenamed Redstone 2 - will appear in March 2017, according to clues found in several existing files in Microsoft's operating system.

The version number and release date were discovered by Twitter user WalkingCat, who found compatibility references to "Windows 10 Version 1703" in group policy settings for Windows Server 2016.

Another Twitter user backed this up with a direct reference in Windows 10's Windows.admx file.

The version naming convention requires only "1703" because it means 2017/03, just as 1607 - otherwise known as Redstone 1 or simply the Anniversary Update - appeared in July 2016; and 1511, known as Threshold 2, hit PCs in November 2015.

It remains to be seen what major changes will appear in the new Windows 10 update, but it is safe to assume that connectability between PCs and mobile phones may play a part, whether or not this has anything to do with the ongoing "Surface Phone" rumours that occasionally rear their heads.

Microsoft is planning a Surface event on 26 October, and perhaps more clarity will emerge there, although announcements are expected to weigh heavily in the PC arena, with branded keyboards and mice already leaked, which suggests there will be less focus on core Surface device hardware and more on a wider ecosystem of tie-in PCs.

It's also possible that new Windows 10 updates will take into account the increasing importance of the Xbox One strand, as intercompatibility across PC and Xbox One becomes a harder Microsoft focus.

One would also hope an extra update may serve to increase compatibility across a wider range of machines, as there are still a number of less commercially popular PC builds on which the Anniversary Update malfunctions or, in some cases, refuses to install.