EPM 11.2.1.0 Initial Thoughts

Let's begin with a comparison chart I whipped up...

Here are my observations after standing up Oracle EPM 11.2.1.0:

• The install and config steps in 11.2.1.0 are identical to 11.2.0.0 in all respects.  You still need to worry about RCU, OHS still isn't its own Windows service, etc.
• The Oracle Middleware layer is also identical between 11.2.0.0 and 11.2.1.0, with the exception of 2 patches that 11.2.1.0 automatically installs: 27747932 and 27430060. Simply applying these 2 patches to an 11.2.0.0 system doesn't give it the Edge & Chrome certifications; you need to be on 11.2.1.0 as Oracle recompiled a lot of their Java classes within the EPM 11.2.1.0 .ear files for Workspace, Planning, etc.  We can see evidence of this when we crawl through the .war files within the .ear files in a tool such as 7-zip.
• As with 11.2.0.0, you'll find 11.2.1.0 is one year behind (as of this writing) in terms of the quarterly Oracle Critical Patch Updates for WebLogic, Java, and OHS.
• There is no need to install 11.2.0.0 first and then in-place upgrade to 11.2.1.0.  You may install 11.2.1.0 fresh and then LCM your application content from 11.1.2.4.

The chief benefits to 11.2.1.0 over 11.2.0.0 are the certifications added for Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome.

IE11 will continue to receive Microsoft security updates for as long as Windows 10 remains supported, but as they say, "shots have been fired".  As Microsoft has indicated Edge is the browser of the future, so has Oracle and thus (I suspect) the push to get 11.2.1.0 out the door.  (People have been clamoring for Chrome certification as well)

Further reading on Microsoft's site: Microsoft Lifecycle FAQ