Future Windows 10 upgrades will require less space

Microsoft first introduced the “Unified Update Platform” (UUP) technology to the Insider program release in December. The update delivery technology delivers only the files that have changed since the last upgrade instead of sending all the files. The package then combines the new files with the local files to create the installation.

These updates, known as “delta” or “differential” updates, benefit the customer by significantly reducing the download size of build updates.

“With UUP in place, the size of a February 1 Insider update dropped to a median of just 910 MB, 65% smaller than a February 8 full update…which tipped the download scale at a median of 2.56GB.”

The size reduction is said to be smaller for non-Insider users of Windows 10. This is because feature updates are released only every several months, whereas Insider updates are released every few weeks – so the before-and-after files for Insiders tend to be very similar, but new feature updates have many changes.

Unfortunately, the technology will not cut the amount of time required to install the upgrade. Customers have complained, and there is potential that Microsoft will address this problem in the future.

Non-insider customers shouldn’t expect to see a change until sometime in the fall, when the next feature upgrade ships (after the “Creators Update” that will ship this month or next).