The autumn 2022 update aka “Sun Valley 2” for Windows 11 will be distributed slowly and in waves to the first users in the summer and then there will be a few more A/B testing run through before users outside the Insider program should also receive the final version of the feature update by September at the latest.
A little autumn in summer
Like the site desk modder has learned from its own sources, the first major feature update, commonly known as the Fall 2022 update, will officially start as early as August. However, it will not have reached General Availability (GA) status by this point in time, so it will not yet be distributed to the broad masses of users. These will follow shortly thereafter.
- Official designation: Fall 2022 update
- Codename during development: Sun Valley 2
- Most important innovations:
- Pre-release: from August 2022*
- Release: from mid-September 2022**
*/**) not officially confirmed!
As with the new search in the taskbar, Microsoft would like to carry out some of the so-called “split tests” as the last test flight before Windows 11 22H2, which was developed under the code name “Sun Valley 2”, then in small waves from mid-September to the to be distributed to regular users.
Before the A/B tests planned for August, there should still be a few insider preview builds before insiders can throw the “final” version of the autumn 2022 update for the first time.
In addition to the extended start menu with customizable folders and a configurable recommendation area, the feature update will also revise the operating system settings and give the folders a preview image again. For the first time, File Explorer has tabs and a new start page, where OneDrive can also serve as “Home”. There are also some new themes.
Optimized taskbar for tablets and 2-in-1 systems
The new taskbar or the new taskbar status, as Microsoft calls the feature, from Windows 11 should always be activated fully automatically when the operating system is running on a tablet or the keyboard is removed from a 2-in-1. However, according to Microsoft, this optimized taskbar cannot be activated or otherwise forced on a desktop PC or notebook.
Windows 11 22H2 has reached the status “Feature Complete” in terms of functionality, but the “Configuration Complete”, i.e. the final conclusion of the development, is still pending.