14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has released Windows 10 preview build 19033, but this time it’s aimed at both the Fast and the Slow rings in the Insider program.
While some believe that this is an indication that we’re getting closer to the RTM build, Microsoft says that not even the removal of the watermark from the desktop is a confirmation that this update is “done.”
In fact, Microsoft will continue to ship preview builds in the coming weeks, although the RTM is indeed expected to be signed off at some point in December.
Shipped as part of the Windows 10 20H1 channel, this new build lands as version 2004, which is a little bit surprising given that Microsoft was originally projected to ship the feature update as version 2003.
No new features
Windows 10 versions are a direct indicator of the date when each feature update was finalized – in the case of Windows 10 version 1909, for example, the first two digits stand for the year and the other two represent the month when the update was complete; in other words, Windows 10 version 1909 was finalized in September 2019.
As per Microsoft’s release schedule, there are two feature updates that come out every year, one in the spring and another one in the fall. The spring update is typically finalized in March, so its version number ends in 03 (e.g. Windows 10 version 1803, Windows 10 version 1903), while the fall update uses a 09 ending (e.g. Windows 10 version 1709, Windows 10 version 1809, Windows 10 version 1909).
This time, however, Microsoft says it picked version 2004 for this update to “eliminate confusion with any past product names, such as Windows Server 2003.”
Unsurprisingly, given that we’re close to the RTM sign-off date, there are no new features in this build, but only bug fixes and performance improvements, and you can check out the full changelog in the box after the jump.