Microsoft tags Windows 10 1809 with the catchy name ‘October 2018 Update’

Microsoft today put a label on its next Windows 10 feature upgrade, giving it the colorless-but-informative moniker of “Windows 10 October 2018 Update.”

The Redmond, Wash.-based developer revealed the name in a presentation at IFA (Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, which translates to “International radio exhibition Berlin”), a massive consumer electronics trade show that kicked off Friday.

Microsoft did not name a release date for the upgrade; it typically keeps quiet about that until just prior to the actual launch.

The Windows 10 October 2018 Update will be the second barely named feature upgrade. In the spring, Microsoft titled the year’s first upgrade with the similarly straightforward “Windows 10 April 2018 Update” after running through the seasons for 2017’s labels.

Windows 10’s twice-annual feature upgrades also come with a numeric nameplate using Microsoft’s yymm format. The October update will be tagged as 1809, however, as if it were a September release. (Microsoft has stuck with the longstanding naming contradiction — Windows 10’s actual release dates have not matched the numeric designation since the first version, 1507, which did debut in July 2015.)

In fact, it’s virtually certain that the Windows 10 October 2018 Update will show its face in October, not September. (Last month, Computerworld foolishly forecast a September launch, based on when the first preview appeared of what will become Windows 10 version 1903.)

What day in October the update will appear may be a mystery, but one recent announcement hints at October 2. That’s when Microsoft will rejigger the device allowances and user count of Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home. Microsoft has been pushing to synchronize the releases of Windows 10 and Office for some time, so it would be logical for the Office 365 October 2 date to also apply to Windows 10.

The upgrade after October’s has been in preview with participants of the Windows Insider program for just over five weeks. It will probably launch in April 2019.