When Microsoft first announced the Windows 10 Creators Update (CU) back in October, the company said that it would be arriving in "early 2017", without being more specific. All recent rumors have pointed to March, but a new report from MSPU claims that it will instead begin rolling out in April.
The final version number is to be 1704, and if you"re not familiar with the way that those numbers work, the first two numbers represent the year and the second two represent the month. This isn"t an exact science though; for example, the Anniversary Update was 1607, despite being released in August. Conversely, the Xbox One Anniversary Update was 1608, and that shipped at the end of July.
Back in October, references to version 1703 had appeared, which indicated a March release. Of course, anything is subject to change until Microsoft officially announces it.
The report also claims that the CU is to be "feature-locked" by mid- to late-January, which means that Microsoft will be done adding new features, and will spend the rest of the time before release fixing various bugs. January fits that timeline, as Insiders would likely see a don"t-call-it-an-RTM build in March.
Finally, according to the report, the Creators Update will roll out in stages, much like the Anniversary Update did. Few people will get it on the date that it actually releases, but if you want it right away, you"ll still be able to manually install it.
Of course, there are still some questions, such as the specific date that it will begin rolling out. Also, it"s unknown whether or not the Windows 10 Mobile version will be available at the same time, as both the November Update and the Anniversary Update were delayed past their PC counterparts. We"ve reached out to Microsoft for comment.