Well, it seems like it’s almost official; Microsoft has started overlapping Windows 11 preview builds in its Dev and Beta channels. While this seems inconsequential to the untrained eye, it could mean that Microsoft is now finalizing the highly anticipated Windows 11 version 22H2, also known as Sun Valley 2, due to release in the fall.
Anyone not directly involved in the Windows Insider program could be forgiven for believing it to be a simple affair. In reality, there are three separate channels that Microsoft uses to test its new OS features; Dev, Beta, and Release Preview. The Dev channel is Microsoft’s laboratory for all the new features and functions it’s testing for Windows 11.
While an incredibly exciting space, Dev channel previews aren’t guaranteed to make it into the final build. The Beta channel is much closer to what the end-user might experience in upcoming public releases of Windows 11. As the name suggests, the Release Preview channel is the closest Windows Insiders get to seeing the final software.
As clarified by Amanda Langowski, the Dev and Beta channels are on parallel tracks but still, at their core, perform two slightly different functions. Windows 11 Build 22581, however, seems to be released in the same form simultaneously on the Dev and Beta channels. This means that there isn’t much of a difference at this stage between the features in development and the features that could make it to the Sun Valley 2 version of Microsoft’s newest OS. This, in turn, means that Microsoft seems to be preparing to roll out near-final software.
It’s impossible to say what will and won’t be included in the final software until Windows 11 22H2 is released, but we look forward to further details as time goes. In the meantime, why not recap on features you may have missed in the Windows 11 feature-loaded, non-feature update?
