There is not a single person that we’ve met that likes the way Windows 10 handles updates. From the intrusive process to the seemingly never-ending queue, Microsoft had a lot of update-related mess to fix with Windows 11. And it looks like the company is doing just that.
Among other things, Microsoft has reduced the size of Windows 11 updates by up to 40%. It managed to do this by tweaking the way updates are delivered to PCs. As such, before we get into the fine details of Windows 11’s update process, let’s look at the way updates work on Windows 10 first.
Windows 10’s Update Process
With the launch of Windows 10 version 1809 in 2018, Microsoft decided to ditch the express update downloads in favor of the paired forward and reverse differential downloads. Windows 11 uses a modified version of paired forward and reverse differential updates.
Windows Updates' Express Downloads
With express downloads, Windows 10 machines only installed the parts of files it was missing to complete the update. The system determined the parts that were missing by comparing the file versions with historical baselines.
To understand this better, let us assume that Microsoft pushed an update to the Photos app on Windows 10 in July. Because Windows 10's updates come with all the previously released fixes for a particular file, the size of the updates can become enormous if Microsoft starts packaging all the previous versions of the Photos app every time it updates the app.
To combat this, Windows 11 uses an “observe, re-encode, and store” approach to generate the reverse differential. Let’s, once again, take the example of the Photos app to understand the process works in detail.
On Windows 11, the update packages that Microsoft pushes only have the forward differential to update the base version of the app. During the application of the forward differential, Windows “observes” the changes/fixes that are taking place. The system then takes these changes and re-encodes them in the form of a data set that describes fixes needed to revert to the base version of the Photos app.
Finally, unlike Windows 10’s updates, reverse differentials in Windows 11 are maintained by the machine. So, whenever an update wants to retract an app back to the base version, the PC provides the steps to take.
By using this technique, Microsoft has shaved 40% off Windows 11’s update size, resulting in optimized updates that are easier on the host hardware.
Windows 11 Updates Are Shaping Up to Be Better Than Windows 10’s in Every Way
Windows 11 packs a lot of fixes for Windows updates. Reducing the size of updates by almost half is an excellent step towards overhauling the updates process for the better.
That said, decreasing the size of updates isn’t the only improvement that Microsoft has made. The company has tweaked the way it handles servicing with a bunch of fixes, including substantially decreasing background activity.