Microsoft adds conservative release ‘ring’ to Windows 10 beta program

Tech giant Microsoft announced that it is adding an update track  or in its vocabulary, a new “ring”  to its Windows 10 preview program for those who want to be on the cutting edge, but just by a sliver.

Gabriel Aul, engineering general manager for Microsoft’s operating systems group, in a company blog post said “The Release Preview ring will focus on Insiders that want to stay on the Current Branch (currently builds based off of 10586), but continue to receive early access to updates, application updates, and driver updates,”

Dubbed “Release Preview,” the track will be more conservative than either of the two existing rings — pegged “Fast” and “Slow” — but will give users access to features, functionality, apps and device drivers before customers on the production-grade timetable see them.Those production-code updates come off the “Current Branch,” one of several update and upgrade cadences. Windows 10 users on the Current Branch are to receive major refreshes two, perhaps three, times each year.

The new Release Preview ring will be best option … one can enjoy getting early access to updates for the Current Branch, Microsoft applications, and drivers, with minimal risk to [your] devices, and still want to provide feedback to make Windows devices great.

The expansion of Insider may bring in more testers, a key component of the beta program. Microsoft has said the feedback it gets from preview participants is critical to Windows 10’s leaner, faster development process, which is much less reliant than before on internal testing to uncover bugs and craft fixes. Theoretically, the more testers the better.

The Release Preview will be available “in the coming weeks,” According to Microsoft