We reported earlier this year that Microsoft is dropping the “Redstone” codename for Windows 10 feature updates. Windows 10 October 2018 Update was the last one to carry that title with the upcoming version of Windows 10 being given the codename 19H1, hinting that the version will be released in the first half of 2019.
While that naming convention looks pretty straightforward and goes with the naming strategy employed by the company for Windows 10 names for the public, it appears Microsoft is considering yet another naming scheme.
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According to reports, Windows team could start using the Azure naming convention (element-themed codenames) starting from the codename of Windows 10 October 2019 Update (version 1909). “The current Azure codename for the 19H1 deliverables is “Titanium,” (Ti),” ZDNet reported. “The Windows client team didn’t end up using that, as they’d already started employing internally and externally ’19H1′.”
Windows 10 19H2 could be called “Vanadium”
If the naming convention shift indeed happens, the 2019 Fall Windows 10 would be called Vanadium (V) in line with the Azure naming scheme. However, if this strategy is being followed, the 2020 version would get Chromium (Cr), which is already in use by Google.
The publication suggested that due to this Microsoft could instead go with Vibranium, the fictional element used to forge Captain America’s shield.
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Microsoft has been through a number of codenames for Windows 10 versions in development. From Threshold to Redstone to the current 19H1, in the three years, we have already been through three different naming conventions.
The original Windows 10 and the November update carried “Threshold 1″ and Threshold 2” given after the original planet from the first Halo game. Then Microsoft moved on to using Redstone which was inspired by Minecraft. Redstone lasted from the Anniversary Update up until the very latest (and still in limbo) the October 2018 Update. Microsoft then decided to stop with the cool factor and just started using 19H1 to identify the Spring 2019 version of Windows 10.
While Vanadium or Vibranium sound cute, the fact that the company is already considering to avoid the Chromium fiasco should give Microsoft a hint to just stick with 19H1, 19H2, and so on. However, these codenames do seem to excite at least some Windows enthusiasts, if not the entire community. Microsoft has refused to comment on the possibility of considering new codenames, but if the history is any hint, we are very likely to see the company adopting a new naming scheme.
