For well over a decade, Windows operating systems have received updates on Patch Tuesdays – the Tuesday (always the second Tuesday of the month) when Windows Update would start downloading new security patches and improvements.
Patch Tuesday, unfortunately, is no more.
On Tuesday, August 12, Microsoft released an update for Windows 8.1. But instead of calling that update Patch Tuesday, Microsoft called it “Update Tuesday”.
In a blog post, Microsoft claims “Update Tuesday” is the official name of the update day moving forward.
Microsoft changed the name for a few different reasons:
-The name “update” is about more than just security patches – it’s also about OS improvements and enhancements
-Security updates will be a part of Update Tuesday, but unlike with Patch Tuesday, they won’t be the only part
-Not all Update Tuesdays will include security updates or patches (unlike Patch Tuesdays, when security patches were sometimes rolled out before they were really ready).
-Microsoft will release updates more frequently on Update Tuesday. Instead of releasing updates on just one Tuesday per month, Microsoft now plans to release updates on multiple Tuesdays per month

Patch Tuesday was never an official name for Microsoft, but it kind of became official after fans started referring to it as Patch Tuesday. Before long, Microsoft was also using the ubiquitous nickname to describe its updates.
Update Tuesday could also reflect Microsoft’s ambitions for Windows 9 – which will likely involve more patches and updates than previous versions of the OS.

Patch Tuesday, we hardly knew ye

If you’re the type of person who got really attached to the Patch Tuesday name, then I have some bad news for you.
But if you’re the type of person who got attached to a nickname like “Patch Tuesday”, then you’re probably dealing with enough bad news in your life already.
It’s not all bad news, though. I’m sure a lot of people will continue referring to updates as Patch Tuesday in the near future.