The further evolution of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been in limbo for several weeks now. After Microsoft was forced to revoke the update shortly after launch, there is still no news of a new launch date. This is a problem for PC manufacturers who are bringing new hardware to market this autumn.
The Windows 10 October 2018 Update was initially released on October 3, but a few days later Microsoft withdrew the build due to notifications from users whose files had suddenly disappeared without a trace. The bug was fixed, affected users were guaranteed that their files would be restored and an updated build was rolled out to Windows Insiders.
That was on October 10th. In the meantime, we are a month and a second data gap away, and the update still doesn’t seem to be sufficiently up to date. In any case, Microsoft has not yet communicated a new general availability. From the end user’s point of view, this does not seem to be an immediate problem.
A delay of one month or more makes little difference for users. As long as the update runs stable when it is finally available and Microsoft pushes back the 18-month support period. For enterprise customers, too, it is only a matter of changing the planning. However, there is one group for which the uncertainty surrounding the progress of the Windows 10 October 2018 Update is problematic, and that is the PC manufacturers or OEMs.
Compatibility
With Black Friday and the holidays coming up, the most important season of the year is beginning. A lot of manufacturers want to have their latest new hardware on the shelves. For every OEM that wants to ship their hardware with the Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809), that is a problem, as Brad Sams of Petri rightly points out.
If manufacturers used pre-release builds from 1809 to validate their hardware and are then forced to ship the devices with version 1803, there may be unforeseen compatibility issues, writes Sams. Especially if that hardware runs on the new Snapdragon 850 and Windows 10 for ARM, such as the Lenovo Yoga C630.
The Windows 10 October 2018 Update is the first and only version of Windows that officially supports the Snapdragon 850. However, as long as version 1809 is not available, manufacturers seem to be forced to roll out their hardware with Windows 10 version 1803. Sams took the test himself and found at Best Buy a Lenovo Yoga C630 with Snapdragon 850 running on Windows 10 1803. According to Microsoft’s documentation, this version has not been optimised for the chip, which can have an effect on performance.
Read this: Windows 10 on ARM: is this the future of mobile devices?
In addition, PC makers will not be able to use their marketing material highlighting the new features of the October 2018 Update on their devices until the update effectively leaves the door. This material is therefore gathering dust, while the busiest sales period of the year is approaching.
This while manufacturers like Lenovo, but also Samsung with its Galaxy Book2, take a risk by opting for ARM. They support Microsoft’s initiative to move away from Intel and experiment with ARM. In exchange for their loyalty, Microsoft cannot keep its promise to ship a version of Windows on time, Sams concludes.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.
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