Microsoft abandoned the continuous mandatory update of Windows 10

Microsoft today issued an important statement: Windows 10 will no longer automatically install those big feature updates every six months. Home users can also pause for smaller updates. In fact, Windows will even let you pause the update after checking!

This is huge. This is the biggest Windows strategic change since Microsoft released Windows from Windows. Microsoft gave up “Windows as a Service” and it will automatically update if you have no control.

In the official Windows blog post, Microsoft’s Mike Fortin explains the changes in Windows Update:

• Beginning with the May 2019 update (formerly known as the April 2019 update), when Microsoft believes it can be ready for your PC, you will see notifications about the availability of this update. However, it is your choice – and whether – install it. Windows 10 won’t just start downloading and installing it without your argument. You must click “Download and install now”.
• When you click Check for Updates in Windows 10, you can choose whether you want to install the generated updates or pause the update for up to 35 days. This pause feature is a new feature in Windows 10 Home that was previously only available in Windows 10 Professional. Previously, Windows automatically installed updates as soon as it was checked. Yes, this also applies to smaller security, stability and driver updates. (You can only pause for 7 days at a time, but you can pause for up to 5 times at a time.)
• Microsoft Windows 10 will still automatically install feature updates when your current version reaches “Service Termination”. It happens about every 18 months – see the Windows Lifecycle Live Report. This means that if you are using Windows 10′s Fall Creators Update (1709), your PC will have to install feature updates – but you don’t have to install the last few feature updates. (So ??yes, some mandatory feature updates still exist – but after a lot of testing, they will be updated every 18 months or so.)
• Microsoft is committed to more work to test feature updates. For example, Microsoft said it “will increase the time it takes for the May 2019 Windows 10 update to release the preview phase.” This should be easy, because the clumsy October 2018 update did not take time in the release preview before the release! Unfortunately, this upcoming release has a blue screen error that won’t be fixed.