What Is a Product Update?
A product update is a broad customer-facing label for any communicated product change, including new features, improvements, fixes, and workflow changes that users should know about.
Why does it matter?
Product update is broader than both feature announcement and release notes, which is why teams often use it loosely. A clear product update workflow helps PMMs decide when to publish one focused announcement, when to bundle multiple changes into release notes, and when to maintain a running changelog instead.
Examples
A monthly email summarizing all notable product updates.
An in-app announcement for a newly launched reporting workflow.
A changelog entry grouped under this month's product updates.
How is it different?
Product update is the broadest term in this cluster. A feature announcement usually highlights one launch, release notes summarize the most important changes in a release, and a changelog acts as the running historical record. Use product update when the audience needs a general update umbrella rather than one precise format.
FAQ
Is a product update the same as a feature announcement?
Not always. Product update is broader. A feature announcement usually focuses on one launch, while a product update can include multiple changes or smaller improvements.
How is a product update different from release notes?
Release notes usually summarize the most important changes in a specific release, while product update is a broader label teams use for any communicated change or update.