Today, Microsoft announced the Windows 10 October 2018 Update for IoT devices, although the firm didn't exactly confirm availability. Like other Windows SKUs like Server, this is a semi-annual release as well as a Long Term Servicing release. That means that if you choose the latter, you'll get 10 years of support and you won't get forced updates.
Device manufacturers can control updates through the Device Update Center Portal, so they can create their own updates that are specific to their device and distribute them as they see fit. This is all part of Windows 10 IoT Core Services, which was announced in June.
New features in the October 2018 Update include Azure IoT Edge - a "fully managed service that delivers cloud intelligence locally by deploying and running artificial intelligence (AI) workloads, Azure services and custom logic directly on Windows 10 IoT devices" - and hardware-accelerated machine learning. That means that devices will be able to do machine learning right on the device, mitigating privacy concerns.
Microsoft has also added support for NXP processors, including the i.MX 6, 7, and 8M. The firm says that this allows developers to create trusted I/O that can't be tampered with.
There are also improvements to kiosk and assigned access, such as enhanced error reporting, improved app management, and exposing assigned access APIs. Azure IoT Device Management is now supported, and you can now manage IoT Core devices with Intune.
Microsoft also called out some servicing updates, which are the same as the changes we saw for all other Windows 10 SKUs. Existing supported Windows 10 IoT Enterprise SAC released will now be supported for 30 months, as will all future updates that are delivered in the fall. Spring updates will continue to be supported for 18 months.
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