Windows 10 19H2: What is it, and what’s included?

Microsoft is currently developing the next Windows 10 update, codenamed 19H2, which is scheduled for launch in September this year and focuses on bringing improvements and updates to the existing Windows 10 19H1 release available now. This is a first for Microsoft, dedicating a major feature update to improving an update that already exists. 19H2, when it’s ready, will sit on top of 19H1 just like a normal Windows 10 patch, meaning there’s less risk and downtime when updating your PC to this new release.

This update will be delivered to users differently than previous Windows 10 feature updates, because 19H2 is just an update for 19H1, and not a full-blown standalone release. Unlike normal Windows 10 feature updates that require large downloads and long reboot times to install, 19H2 will be delivered just like a normal Patch Tuesday release, also known as a Cumulative Update. The download won’t be as large, and won’t take as long to install or restart.

What’s the difference between feature updates and cumulative updates?

The 19H2 release won’t have as many new features or changes as normal Windows 10 feature updates do, but that’s by design. Microsoft is dedicating 19H2 to fixing bugs, improving performance, and introducing minor new features for customers to take advantage of. With that in mind, there are still changes to be noted, and as with every new Windows 10 feature update, we’re going to compile every change into an easy to view list so you can keep track.

OS Details

• Codename: 19H2
• Version: 1909
• Expected Release: September 2019

19H2 changelog (so far)

As Windows 10 19H2 is still in development, this changelog is considered incomplete. We will continue to update it with every new preview build that Microsoft rolls out up until public release.

Windows Shell

• Notifications settings under Settings > System > Notifications will now default to sorting notification senders by most recently shown notification, rather than sender name.
• Thumbnail previews have been added to the notification settings area to show what is meant by “banner” and “Action Center.”

Miscellaneous

• General battery life and power efficiency improvements for PCs with certain processors.
• Windows containers require a matched host and container version. This restricts customers and limits Windows containers from supporting mixed-version container pod scenarios This update includes 5 fixes to address this and allow the host to run down-level containers on up-level for process (Argon) isolation.
• A fix to allow OEMs to reduce the inking latency based on the hardware capabilities of their devices rather than being stuck with latency selected on typical hardware configuration by the OS.
• Key-rolling or Key-rotation feature enables secure rolling of Recovery passwords on MDM managed AAD devices upon on-demand request from in-tune/MDM tools or upon every time recovery password is used to unlock the BitLocker protected drive. This feature will help prevent accidental recovery password disclosure as part of manual BitLocker drive unlock by users.
• Third-party digital assistant support on the lockscreen is now available.
• A new rotation policy is present that distributes performance more fairly among favored cores available with a CPU.
• We have enabled Windows Defender Credential Guard for ARM64 devices for additional protection against credential theft for enterprises deploying ARM64 devices in their organizations.
• We have enabled the ability for enterprises to supplement the Windows 10 in S Mode policy to allow traditional Win32 (desktop) apps from Microsoft Intune.
• The ability for Narrator and other assistive technologies to read and learn where the FN key is located on keyboards and what state it is in (locked versus unlocked) has been added.

This changelog includes all the changes noted up to build 18362.10019.

Catch up on all the changes from the previous Windows 10 updates

Seeing a feature that isn’t listed here? Perhaps it was added in a previous Windows 10 update. Check out our changelogs for those below!