Microsoft has announced a new Windows 10 event for January 21, and even though no other specifics have been provided, people close to the matter suggest that this will be a really important moment for both the company and its users, as lots of new details on what’s to come for the operating system on all fronts are likely to be disclosed.
It appears that this kind of speculation is indeed true, as Microsoft has started updating systems running Windows 10 Technical Preview for a new release that will take place next month.
Gabriel Aul, head of the Windows Insider team, revealed on Twitter that this new patch “preps your system to take the next build from FBL_AWESOME branch,” which, according to him, is the latest branch switch that will take place before Windows 10 sees daylight.
This could be the Consumer Preview
One big enigma right now is when the Consumer Preview will actually be provided to users, as some people familiar with Microsoft’s development plans indicated that Redmond could bring it out as soon as next month.
What we’re hearing, however, is that the software giant isn’t actually planning to roll out a Windows 10 Consumer Preview build, but rather a new testing version comprising many more features, including some that could be aimed at consumers, such as Continuum.
And still, Microsoft is unlikely to call it Consumer Preview, since there’s still no Developer Preview available, which, by the way, could arrive in April, at the BUILD developer conference.
Next month’s release, however, might be shipped as January Technical Preview, sources say, while the next builds could be named depending on the month when they get the green light. For instance, the successors to JTP could be called February Technical Preview, March Technical Preview, and so on until the Developer Preview is ready.
Launch in early fall 2015
There’s no doubt that Windows 10 development advances really fast these days, so Microsoft is finally ready to disclose some details for consumers as well, which means that next month’s event is going to be really interesting for pretty much all Microsoft customers.
As far as the stable release is concerned, it appears that Windows 10 could see daylight in early fall 2015, so RTM is very likely to be reached during the summer.
Details, however, are still scarce at the moment, so more information could be provided by Microsoft next month, at the consumer event in Redmond.
Hi #WindowsInsiders - one more WU update today. This one preps your system to take the next build from FBL_AWESOME branch.
— Gabriel Aul (@GabeAul) December 18, 2014