Early last month, Microsoft released the Windows 10 Creators Update for PCs, making it available initially as a manual installation, before beginning its general rollout via Windows Update on April 11. However, Apple did not support clean installs of the Creators Update in Boot Camp, so the only way to get close to installing it from scratch would be to first install the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and then upgrade to the Creators Update from there.
Now, that issue is finally fixed, as Apple has added support for the Creators Update in its latest macOS update, 10.12.5 Sierra, which it released earlier today. As we reported earlier, the update brings a wide range of security fixes and patches; but as Ars Technica spotted, it also includes further improvements, listed in its release notes:
- Fixes an issue where audio may stutter when played through USB headphones
- Enhances compatibility of the Mac App Store with future software updates
- Adds support for media-free installation of Windows 10 Creators Update using Boot Camp
- Adds support for more digital camera RAW formats.
- Resolves an issue, affecting some enterprise and education customers, that may cause the system date to be set to the year 2040.
- Prevents a potential kernel panic when starting up from a NetInstall image. This fix is available when starting up from a NetInstall image created from the macOS 10.12.5 installer.
The addition of "media-free installation" support means that you can install the Creators Update in Boot Camp without first needing to create installation media, such as a USB disk image.
Apple has also updated its support site to make it clear that the Creators Update is available "on supported Mac models that have macOS Sierra 10.12.5 or later installed". It added that "if you have an earlier release of Windows 10, you can install it on a Mac with OS X Yosemite or later".
Source: Ars Technica