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For years, Microsoft branded its major Windows 10 updates with seasonal names like the "April 2018 Update" or "Windows 10 Fall Creators Update." But as veteran Microsoft engineer Raymond Chen recently revealed, this approach harbored an unintended Northern Hemisphere bias that ultimately led to a significant naming pivot.

In a candid explanation, Chen recounted a pivotal meeting where a colleague from the Southern Hemisphere pointed out the problem: "He grew up in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite from those in the Northern Hemisphere. He pointed out that naming the updates Spring and Fall shows a Northern Hemisphere bias and is not inclusive of our customers in the Southern Hemisphere."

"Naming updates Spring and Fall shows a Northern Hemisphere bias and is not inclusive of our customers in the Southern Hemisphere"
— Raymond Chen, Microsoft engineer

This insight triggered Microsoft's shift to the geographically neutral "H1" (first half) and "H2" (second half) terminology starting in 2019. While less marketing-friendly than names like "Creators Update," the change acknowledged Microsoft's global user base—where "Fall" is meaningless in markets like the UK (which uses "Autumn") and seasons are inverted south of the equator.

The naming evolution coincided with Microsoft's gradual retreat from biannual feature updates. Following problematic releases like the document-deleting October 2018 Update (internally dubbed "the Update of the Damned"), Microsoft reduced its cadence to a single annual update for Windows 11, now labeled with the year and half (e.g., 23H2).

Chen's disclosure highlights how seemingly minor product decisions can carry unintended cultural implications in global software development. As tech giants increasingly serve worldwide audiences, such considerations become critical—proving that sometimes the most inclusive solution is also the simplest: a letter and a number.

Source: The Register