Microsoft is modifying the rules of its Windows Insider program ahead of the arrival of Windows 12 in 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 on the contrary, a release that is almost ready to deploy. The system works a bit like browsers where you can download a Beta or a Dev version in advance to test new features.
Microsoft has unveiled significant new changes to the Windows Insider Program, paving the way for testing of the future Windows 12.
A new Canary channel and Dev 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 rather stable versions of new features.
The great novelty is the Canary channel which allows, as for a browser, to test very fresh versions in terms of development, which can therefore be unstable and with very little documentation.
Microsoft says this channel may offer new builds with ” platform changes, sometimes major, such as Windows kernel changes or new APIs “. The firm also warns that new features 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 Windows version. Given the timing and the channel description, there is therefore reason to believe that Microsoft wants to offer the first builds of Windows 12 here.
And the Dev channel?
Insider program members who were in the Dev channel and had received a version of Windows 11 with build 25000 will be automatically migrated to this new channel. Microsoft should send you an email if you are concerned.
The firm warns that the Dev channel should still keep this role of testing new features that may also never see the light of day. The versions offered in 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 intended for it. ultimately 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 to ” latest versions of Windows 11 “.
Windows 12: here we go
This redesign of the Insider program must therefore above all serve as a basis for launching tests around Windows 12. The next version of Microsoft’s system must in particular put the package on the integration of AI. The launch is not expected before 2024.
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