Microsoft has announced roadmap for the Windows Insider Program in 2022. The Redmond-based software giant also released a new icon for the Windows Insider Program. The new announcement is based on the facts revealed by Panos Panay last week. Microsoft is impressed with the incredible interest shown by the users in the Windows Insiders program after the announcement of Windows 11 in June 2021.
Microsoft has unveiled the new icon of the Windows Insider Program. The icon is designed to represent the community of people who love and help shape the future of Windows access Dev, Beta, and Release Preview channels. If you are a Windows Insider in the Dev Channel, you will view this icon under Settings | Windows Update | Windows Insider Program. Going forward, the new Windows Insider Program icon will be visible on email and other materials.
According to estimates, the number of people running preview builds of Windows 11 is higher than Windows 10. The product team is excited and energized by the feedback provided by Windows Insiders, which will be used to make the Windows 11 experience even better for customers. The company is trying to evolve the way the bits are made available to Windows Insiders with special emphasis on various concepts related to features and services.
The Dev Channel of the Windows Insiders Program is a place to incubate new ideas, work on long lead items including the ability to manage the states of individual features. The intention is to roll out features in stages to monitor quality and also to implement testing variations of features. The features and experiences introduced via Dev Channel build could probably show up in upcoming Windows 11 releases when they are ready.
Microsoft revealed that some concepts and features will never ship. The idea is to experiment to have an enhanced experience including delivering solutions in Windows that truly empower customers to do more. According to Microsoft, the product team will continue to document the new features as and when they are introduced in Windows Insider builds via blog posts on the official Windows Insiders page. However, the team will not document all the variations of features due to various factors.
Microsoft has acknowledged that their technical Windows Insiders have discovered that some features are intentionally disabled in the builds they have flighted. The company has added that this is by design. The team will communicate only about those features that are enabled for Windows Insiders to try and provide feedback. The tech enthusiasts should think of Dev and Beta channels as parallel active development branches to get most out of the Windows Insider experience.
Microsoft revealed that the builds released to the Dev Channel should not be seen as matched to any specific release of Windows. The features will change based on feedback, removed, or replaced as per the discretion of the product team. The beta channel will preview experiences that are closer to the final shipped versions.
While the Dev channel features are bit unstable, Beta channel releases are stable but the period of release are less. There are cases where features and experiences will be visible in the Beta Channel firstly.
Microsoft is planning to release Feature, Web, and Online Service Experience packs on top of the Dev and Beta channel builds. The Release Preview channel can be used to preview the upcoming new features for the general customers. Microsoft will soon provide a window for Windows Insiders to switch over from the Dev Channel to the Beta Channel.
