Microsoft is modifying the rules of its Windows Insider program in view of the arrival of Windows 12 to the test circuit.
Since its inception with Windows 10, Microsoft’s Windows Insider program has undergone some major changes. As a reminder, this program allows you to download and test the next versions of Windows in advance.
Members have several release channels to choose from, depending on whether they want releases that are very early in development and potentially unstable, or conversely, a release that is almost ready to go. The system works a bit like browsers where you can download a Beta or Dev version ahead of time to test new features.
Microsoft has unveiled significant new changes to the Windows Insider Program, paving the way for future testing of Windows 12.
A new Canary channel and development changes
The program now offers four channels. The Beta channel and the Release Preview channel do not change, these are the ones that allow you to test fairly stable versions of new features.
The great novelty is the Canary channel that allows, as in a browser, to test very fresh versions in terms of development, so they can be unstable and with very little documentation.
Microsoft says that this channel can offer new builds with ” platform changes, sometimes major, such as changes to the Windows kernel or new APIs “. The firm also warns that the novelties introduced in the Canary channel may never see the light of day for the general public and be abandoned during development.
A change as big as a change to the Windows kernel usually warrants a new name for the version of Windows. Given the timing and the description of the channel, there is reason to believe that Microsoft wants to offer the first versions of Windows 12 here.
And the development channel?
Insiders who were in the Dev channel and received a version of Windows 11 with build 25000 will be automatically migrated to this new channel. Microsoft should email you if you’re concerned.
The firm warns that the Dev channel must still maintain this role of testing new features that may never see the light of day. The builds offered on the Dev channel should still offer a higher level of stability than the Canary channel.
Officially, Microsoft indicates that this Dev channel does not target a particular version of Windows, but we understand that the firm should test new features for it. good to Windows 11. In a paragraph of its announcement article, the firm contradicts itself and confirms this theory by summarizing its Dev channel to access ” latest versions of windows 11 ».
Windows 12: here we go
Therefore, this redesign of the Insider program should serve above all as a basis for launching tests around Windows 12. The next version of Microsoft’s system should, in particular, put the package on AI integration. The launch is not expected before 2024.
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