14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has shipped a new Windows 10 preview build earlier today, and the company is making other changes to the Windows Insider program as it moves towards the final development stages of the Redstone 5 update.
In a blog post today, Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, reveals that Microsoft will soon start focusing on stabilization for Windows 10 Redstone 5, so the company suspends the Skip Ahead ring and pushes all users here to Fast.
This complete reset of Skip Ahead is necessary to empty the free slots that are currently being used by PC that haven’t been active, and the company says that at some point in the future, this ring would be reopened when it starts working on the next update for Windows 10.
Redstone 5 entering final development stages
“We are getting close to the point in the development cycle where our focus will be on stabilization for RS5. As part of the stabilization process, we have “forked” RS5 into its own branch called “RS5_RELEASE” just like we did for RS4 and RS3 before that. Insiders will see this branch change with today’s build,” Dona Sarkar explains.
“And like we did with RS3 and RS4, we are getting ready to start releasing builds to Insiders who choose to “skip ahead” to the next release of Windows 10. These builds will come from the RS_PRERELEASE branch.”
Microsoft says it will let everyone know when the Skip Ahead ring becomes available once again, though at this point, ironing out the bugs in Windows 10 Redstone 5 is the priority.
Redstone 5 is projected to launch in the fall of this year, and according to Microsoft’s typical release schedule, it should be finalized in September and then released in October. As it happens with all the other updates, insiders will be the first to receive the RTM build, after which the company will release a gradual rollout to production systems across the world.