On Friday, Microsoft released the first build of Windows 11 26H1 – and, as expected, You you won't have to worry about it.
Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 28000 for the Canary Channel, the most experimental of the four Windows Insider channels. “With this build today, Windows Insiders on the Canary Channel will see a version update in the Settings > System > About the system (And winner) to Windows 11 version 26H1,” the company said in a statement. blog post.
In its announcement, Microsoft made it abundantly clear that Windows 11 26H1 will not be something that consumers will have to worry about.
“26H1 is not a feature update to 25H2 and only includes platform changes to support specific chips,” the blog post notes. “No action is required from clients.”
“[Windows 11] 25H2 remains the primary location for new features,” the post added. “Windows 11 continues to have an annual cadence of feature updates, with releases occurring in the second half of the calendar year.”
Microsoft's statement matches the opinion of the Phantomofearth tipster. revealed just over a week ago: that the Windows 11 26H1 release was specifically aimed at the new chip. The source of the information stated that the new silicon in question was Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elitewhich is due out in early 2026. Microsoft mostly used the earlier version Snapdragon X Elite as a testbed, first rolling out new features on the platform and then adding support for other Copilot+ processors, such as Intel Core Ultra 200 chips and AMD Ryzen AI 300 processors.
While Microsoft may correct course and launch one or two new features in the Windows 11 26H1 channel, it looks like enthusiasts who want to try and test new Windows features should stick with Windows 11 25H2 for now. You can double check which version is installed on your computer using the “winget” command in Windows.
Again, the Canary Canal is purely experimental. “The builds we release on the Canary Channel represent the latest platform changes early in the development cycle and should not be considered specific to any particular version of Windows,” Microsoft said. “The features and functionality included in these builds may never be released as we test different concepts and receive feedback. Features may change, be removed, or be replaced over time and may never be released outside of the Windows Insider Program. Some of these features and functionality may appear in future releases of Windows when they are ready.”
