Microsoft Windows 10 October 2020 Update

Price: Free

Microsoft’s Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) update will usher the new Microsoft Edge browser onto millions of PCs, while upgrading the venerable Alt + Tab shortcut with a needed new function. But Microsoft’s designers have turned the once-colourful Start menu into watery gruel with a less-than-impressive visual update.

All in all, the Windows 10 October 2020 Update is another in a line of anaemic autumn feature updates. And that’s okay. We expected this. For the past two to three years, Microsoft’s major feature updates have coalesced within the ‘spring’ releases, leaving mainly minor patches and quality updates for the autumn release. This year is no different, though the small list of changes do allow for some interesting tweaks to your Windows 10 PC.

Microsoft said in late August that the Windows 10 October 2020 Update (Windows currently reports the version number as ‘20H2’ in our preview build) has been released for commercial testing. We ran it through its paces in early September, using Microsoft’s Beta Channel (build 19042.508) as the source for our test builds, which Microsoft now says is the ‘final’ build. Microsoft hasn’t indicated the exact date when the Windows 10 October 2020 Update will be released to the PC market at large.

Here’s what’s new