I get very nostalgic every time I remember the Windows Insider Program from late 2014 and early to mid-2015... New "Fast" insider builds were released every +/- 20 days, and were always packed full of features, and for me, more importantly, significant, major and highly noticeable visual changes (who else loved and is fond of the "Snowy" wallpaper from public builds 9926 through 10130?)... Or the experimental Aero Glass-like blur from build 10074? Insiders always had great expectations of what shiny new stuff the next Fast build would bring... Those in the Slow Channel would wait more, but would be rewarded with a HUGE set of new features and changes to try out. Gabe Aul would almost always post a tweet with the new build's number before it dropped... The excitement was awesome. Oh yeah, also there was no A/B testing. Fast forward to mid-2023... Canary Channel is a joke, as Canary builds have nothing "canary" about them... They sometimes don't release new Dev/Can builds for 2 weeks straight... But don't get too excited, because 99% of the time, when they finally release a new build for either channels... it has NOTHING new to try out. "Hey look, we added a new icon/changed the icon for a feature you'll almost never use or notice! Yay!" Very rarely, there will be a single new slightly more interesting feature, but that of course is locked behind a stupid velocity ID and most insiders will have to use ViVeTool to test it/use it. - The Windows Insider Program, as it is today, has become stale, unexciting and pointless, a waste of broadband. - I rolled back to stable 22621 until we actually have something new to try out. Edit (May 06, 2023): Welp, seems like now MSFT has managed to make the Canary Channel itself completely useless, by releasing these empty "zn_release" branch builds onto it... These builds not only do not add any new feature, they also remove all existing new features from 25346 and earlier... This is a rant and represents solely my opinion, and if you don't agree with me, that's great and ok!
Perfectly normal that knowing Windows 12 is coming next year, they are hiding as much as they can, all the major new features and changes until the reveal. Yes it's boring, yes it's calm, but the storm is coming, but we have to wait... This is just like every other major OS across the Industry when a new major version is to be anounced... iOS, MAC OS, Android, etc... Example iOS 16.4 and now 16.5 nothing major, boring, calm, but the storm is coming iOS 17, but we have to wait...
Then, I believe MS should just pause the program between major Windows releases. Only reopening the testing after a new Windows release is announced. And yes I do understand they are just following the same tactic they used in 2020/2021 before W11 was officially announced. But it is frustrating nonetheless.
That is correct. Absolutely not much in canary or dev except some widgets blah, or some useless stuff for most on top of a pile of useless stuff. And some fixes that are announced at the bottom. I do hope they fix the gamma settings and background colours that give a harsh white compared to softer and more pure white of win 10 and that useless folder spaces that take up precious space. It would also be a great time save if by updating to each canary build, they don't kill all the customisations like shortcut arrows, fonts, navigation pane. Just leave it as it is, please.
Microsoft has stated that Windows 10 will no longer get a annual feature update anymore, and that v22H2 will be the last release before Windows 10's end of support in Oct 2025.
Canary 25357.1 does have a new feature with Facebook in the widget!!!. Now you can try it??? As if on cue, MS proved you wrong.
Well, now with this zn_release branch, the Canary channel has become itself entirely useless. Builds 25352.1 and now 25357.1 have absolutely nothing new... New Widget Picker in A/B Testing? A new Facebook Widget? Are you joking MS? These could have easily been shipped as updates on top of the existing existing. For me, what they're doing is known here in Brazil is called "Enchendo linguiça"...