Summary

  • Windows 11 25H2 hits Release Preview — mostly an enablement package, not a major update.
  • Microsoft focuses on cleanup: removes PowerShell 2.0 and WMIC, and lets commercial clients uninstall built-ins.
  • It's a slim, uninspiring update — 24H2 added more; 25H2 mostly prepares features to be toggled on later.

So I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, Windows 11 25H2 is almost here, as Microsoft has just pushed it to the Release Preview channel, which acts as the final round of testing before it deploys worldwide. The bad news is...it's not very exciting.

If you've been following Windows 11 news lately, you'll know that this isn't much of a surprise. When we first spotted the 25H2 April update, it looked pretty slim. It seems that Microsoft is taking a break after 24H2 and using this year's big update to tidy stuff up. In fact, from what Microsoft has told us, it seems we'll be losing stuff.

Microsoft pulls back the curtain a little on what Windows 11 25H2 will bring

In a post on the Windows Insider Blog, Microsoft confirms that Windows 11 25H2 will be what's called an "enablement package." This is when Microsoft updates the current version of Windows with files from a future build, but in a dormant state. When the feature is ready to release, Microsoft "flicks the switch" to turn it on, which the company claims reduces downtime by reducing the version upgrade to a single restart.

So, what's included in 25H2? Well, the question is better framed as "what's going away in 25H2," as Microsoft hasn't told us what's being added as much as they explained what's being removed. Microsoft has confirmed that 25H2 will see both PowerShell 2.0 and the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line (WMIC) removed, and commercial clients will gain the ability to remove pre-installed Windows 11 apps from PCs. So, lots of not-stuff is going on.

As we said earlier, this update isn't ready for full release just yet. If you'd like to give it a go and see what's new, you can do so by signing up to the Release Preview channel. Microsoft states that Insider can download the ISO from its website in the coming week, so keep an eye out if you're interested.

If you want to learn more about what Windows 11 25H2 will bring, check out Microsoft's post on getting ready for Windows 11 version 25H2. And if you have the feeling in the back of your mind that Windows 11 24H2 was a lot more exciting than this one, you're not wrong. We wrote a piece on Windows 11 24H2 back when it was released, and it definitely features more stuff getting, you know, added.