Based on information that Microsoft shared with participants of the recent Ignite partner conference held in Australia, it appears that, a few months after Windows 10 Creators Update is released to the public, the next major update, currently being called Redstone 3, could also be rolled out in 2017.
The timeline Microsoft has given for the supposed Redstone 3 update is four to eight months after the official release of Windows 10 Creators Update. That gives further credence to our assumption that Creators Update will come at the end of March. Even at the outer limit of Microsoft’s estimates, Redstone 3 will come around the end of November.
The last major update for Windows 10 came in August 2016 – the Anniversary Update – the month after Microsoft shut the doors on the free Windows 10 upgrade on July 29, 2016. If Windows 10 Creators Update comes at the end of March, as expected, then that will be seven months after the Anniversary Update.
It that timeline still holds for the subsequent update, that means Redstone 3 could be released as early as October 2017, right in time for the 2017 holiday shopping season.
We think that Microsoft will definitely push for an October release, because of several reasons.
One of those reasons is that the much-anticipated Surface Phone will only be a pathbreaking device if it has the full capabilities that Redstone 3 brings to the table – specifically, the ability to bring the full desktop experience on a mobile device using x86 emulation on ARM architecture.
Surface Phone is critical to the whole Microsoft device experience as well as Windows 10 adoption. The sooner Redstone 3 is released, the sooner Surface Phone can be released as a truly innovative device befitting Microsoft’s re-entry attempt into the smartphone market.
The second reason is Windows 10 adoption. Microsoft is pinning all its hopes on 2017 being the year of large-scale adoption of the new operating system version.
All evidence points to the fact that the fall/winter update for Windows 10 in 2017 is, in fact, what’s being called Redstone 3. We’ve known about it for a long time now, but the timelines are getting much clearer as we approach the official release date for Windows 10 Creators Update.
Big things are in store for Microsoft fans this year – first, the Windows 10 Creators Update rolling out at the end of next month; then, hopefully, the new Surface Pro 5; after that, the next major update to Windows 10, Redstone 3; finally, Surface Phone in time for the 2017 holiday season.
That’s what we’d ideally like to see, but we’ll have to wait to find out how solid our information sources have been so far and whether Microsoft’s actions will match that timeline.
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