Why Is the First 2020 Windows 10 Update Called “2004”?

Since Windows has migrated from the original concept to Windows as a Service, Microsoft’s desktop operating system is always a work-in-progress, and the feature updates that the company releases every year come to add new capabilities and improve the existing ones.

According to Microsoft’s release calendar, there are two different feature updates that are pushed to Windows 10 every year. The first one typically arrives in the spring, while the other one gets the go-ahead in the fall. As a summary these are the expected release dates for Windows 10 feature update, according to Microsoft’s schedule:

Spring feature update: finalized in March or April, shipped in April or May
Fall feature: finalized in September or October, shipped in October or November

Windows 10 uses version numbers that are direct indicators of the dates mentioned above. The version number typically consists of 4 digits, the first two of which represent the year when the update was develo...