14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has announced a major change for the Fast ring in the Windows Insider program, as the company is moving to a more straightforward approach for the next Windows 10 feature updates.
Beginning with the release of Windows 10 build 19536, the Fast ring will get improvements from the RS_PRERELEASE channel. In other words, the updates that will be included in these builds don’t have a release date and are the latest ideas tested by the Windows team.
So while these features could become available for the Fast ring, they may not be part of the next public feature update for Windows 10 production devices, as Microsoft says it would only publish them when they’re ready.
Slow ring for more polished builds
“Moving forward, the Fast ring will receive builds directly from this active development branch and new features will show up in these builds first. While features in the active development branch may be slated for a future Windows 10 release, they are no longer matched to a specific Windows 10 release,” the company explains.
“This means that builds from the active development branch simply reflect the latest work in progress code from our engineers. New features and OS improvements done in this branch during these development cycles will show up in future Windows 10 releases when they are ready.”
In other words, insiders who are seeking a more stable experience without experimental features are recommended to stick with the Slow or Release Preview rings. These builds would continue to receive more polished builds, that undergo additional testing before receiving the go-ahead for production devices.
Windows 10 20H1 is the next feature update for the operating system, and it’s scheduled to land in the spring as version 2004. People familiar with the matter said the RTM date for Windows 10 is mid-December.