14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently announced that it would be holding a Bug Bash next month, thus officially starting the process of hunting down issues in the operating system ahead of the fall launch.
Windows 10 Redstone 5 is the next feature update coming to the operating system, and according to Microsoft’s typical release schedule, it should be finalized in September. The public rollout could begin in October.
This time, Microsoft appears to be starting Bug Bashes sooner than usual, most likely in an attempt to find bugs and fix them still in their early days, thus trying to offer a smoother performance throughout the Insider program.
The first Redstone 5 Bug Bash will kick off on June 22, so by the time it starts, a bunch of other preview builds are likely to see daylight as well. Further information will be released closer to the kickoff date.
“We are excited to announce the dates for the next Bug Bash: June 22nd – July 1st. And we will hold a Bug Bash Webcast on our Mixer channel on June 27th – exact timing will be announced closer to the date. We’re excited to do another Bug Bash with our Windows Insiders!” Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, said.
The role of a Bug Bash in Windows 10 development process
Bug Bashes are particularly important for new Windows 10 feature updates because they help Microsoft find and fix issues in the operating system before being shipped to devices in the production ring.
And yet, they do not guarantee that everything would run smoothly. Despite running several such bug hunting efforts during the development of Windows 10 April 2018 Update, this particular OS version still appears to be incredibly buggy, causing all kinds of problems on systems that install it, including even breaking down the installation and rendering computers useless.
Microsoft has already acknowledged many of these bugs, and even blocked the upgrade on certain configurations, so hopefully running Bug Bashes early would help prevent similar issues in Redstone 5.