Windows 11 version 26H1: Everything we know so far about Microsoft's next OS release in 2026

Microsoft is hard at work on the next version of Windows 11, but this time things might be a little bit different. Instead of waiting until the second half of the year like most new version updates, Microsoft looks to be planning to ship the next version of Windows 11 much earlier, likely in the first half of 2026.

This is because the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon X2-based SoC and NVIDIA N1X platform requires platform changes that aren't currently available in version 25H2, and the work required to light up Snapdragon X2 and N1X devices appears to be part of the next Windows platform release, codenamed Bromine.

Unlike 25H2, which is based on the same platform release as version 24H2 (codenamed Germanium,) the next version of Windows 11 looks to be based on the newer Bromine platform release. This means it's a full OS upgrade, but it will likely only be available on Snapdragon X2 devices at launch.

It's unconfirmed if this next release will be denoted as version 26H1, version 26H2, or maintain the version 25H2 moniker. References to a version 26H1 based on the Bromine platform release have been spotted in recent documentation and API calls, so that seems most likely currently.

What we know for sure is that the next version of Windows 11 will be based on a newer version of the Windows platform and includes necessary platform changes to ensure Snapdragon X2 and N1X chips work.

Release date

The next version of Windows 11 isn't expected to ship on Snapdragon X2 devices until the first half of 2026. It's based on the Bromine platform release, which is expected to be signed off internally sometime in November 2025. Once that's done, Microsoft will continue to fine tune and polish the base RTM build until the first devices are ready to ship with it.

General availability for this next release is unknown at this time. It's unclear if Microsoft intends to roll out Bromine to all Windows 11 PCs, or if this release will remain exclusive to Snapdragon X2 and N1X devices that require it, instead waiting to ship a 26H2 in the second half of 2026 for everyone else.

Microsoft is expected to sign-off on Bromine with an RTM build number of 28000. Microsoft doesn't always sign off a final build with a round number, and the last time it was done to this extent was with the original release of Windows 11 with build 22000.

New features

Thanks to Microsoft's current development strategy for Windows, most in-support versions of Windows 11 are often at feature parity with each other, even when based on different platform releases. This is expected to remain the case between Germanium and Bromine.

Platform updates

Where things differ between platform releases is what's happening under the hood. Bromine is a much newer release of the Windows platform, and as such is likely more performant and efficient compared to the current version of Windows 11. We also know that it includes necessary changes that allow Snapdragon X2 devices to function.

This isn't the first time Qualcomm's next gen chips have required Microsoft to push forward a new version of the Windows platform. In 2024, Microsoft launched version 24H2 on the Germanium platform release, months before it was ready to roll out to all Windows 11 PCs. This is because Snapdragon X was launching in June, and required Germanium to function.

It seems like the same thing may be happening here. Bromine is launching early for Snapdragon X2, with general availability for everyone else happening sometime after.

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