Microsoft "retires" Windows Update and introduces its new Unified Update Platform

A while ago we talked about the latest Build released by Microsoft. The Build 14959 that reaches the members of the Windows Insider Program within the fast ring. A Build with its usual improvements and corrections but that also launches something very special A new way to participate in these updates.

And it is that from Redmond they have announced the Unified Update Platform What could cause problems when updating our equipment? Well, with this initiative they will try to put an end to all doubts and inconveniences that may arise.

This is a new way to release build updates. The Unified Update Platform (UUP) seeks to improve the way in which the different patches and updates (including Builds) were released until now, for which Windows Update was used. The process by which this system is going to be implemented is progressive and although it has already been released with Build 14959 in Windows 10 Mobile, it is expected that it will be extended to the PC market in a few weeks to later reach the rest of the products.

Windows Update becomes history

The news was brought by Bill Karagounis, Director of the Windows Insider Program and the OS Fundamentals Program. Through the Unified Updates Platform we will receive all _updates_ whether they are from PC, mobile phones, Hololens, Xbox and IoT.It is therefore a matter of facilitating the distribution of update packages:

• The weight of downloads on PC has been considerably reduced. Technologies used in build and release systems have been brought together to enable differential downloads for all devices supporting PC and mobile operating systems. A diff download package contains only the changes that have been made since you last updated the device instead of downloading an entire build. This will have an impact on PC, where users will see downloads drop by 35% when a major Windows update is released. The goal of supporting this functionality from the Windows 10 Creators Update is currently being worked on; Insiders will be able to enjoy it soon.
• There has been a general overhaul in the way devices check for updates, making it more efficient.From the UUP, the sending of update information to the user's device has been reduced, as well as the amount of processes that act, this especially in devices with mobile operating systems. With these changes you won't notice anything different, everything will happen underneath.
• The concept of extending what is on the PC to mobile phones has also been thought of. If you didn't notice, previously distributing builds or updates in the latest build is done in a single operation independent of which base build is running, which is not the case on the mobile operating system. On your phone, we will sometimes require installing updates in two steps to get the latest one. With UUP, there is now logic in the client that can automatically fall back to what is internally called a canonical build, allowing the mobile device to be upgraded in one step, just like on PC.

In short, what are we going to notice

Therefore, with this system we will see how the size of updates is reduced by having a general update that will vary depending on the equipment on a minimum size of differential data. This translates to about a 35% drop between major updates

Also the process has been improved when looking for updates. In this more efficient way, something that will manifest itself in greater agility when carrying out the verification and download procedures.

Let's remember that this is an internal improvement, so we won't notice any notable changes. It works under the Windows Update layer and initially will only be available for updates related to Windows 10 Mobile within the Insider Program in the fast ring.

Via | Microsoft