Windows Insider Program Adds New Beta Channel for Windows 10 Users

Microsoft has just announced that its Windows Insider Program now offers a new Beta Channel for Windows 10 users. Even though Windows 10 will go out of support in October 2025, Microsoft still intends to bring new features to the OS, as it recently did with Copilot on Windows. Going forward, the Beta Channel will be used to test these new features with enthusiasts still on Windows 10.

“At the end of last year, we announced a change in approach for Windows 10 to make sure everyone can get the maximum value from their current Windows PC,” the Windows Insider team explained. “To bring new features and more improvements to Windows 10 as needed, we need a place to do active feature development with Windows Insiders. So today, we are opening the Beta Channel for Windows Insiders who are currently on Windows 10. This will allow us to try out new features for Windows 10, version 22H2, with Insiders before releasing them to all Windows 10 customers.”

This had to be expected, but the Windows Insider team said that all features that come to the Beta Channel may not roll out to the general public. New features may also change over time, and they will also roll out to Beta testers via controlled feature rollouts (CFRs). To get early access to new features, Windows 10 Insiders on the Beta Channel will need to turn on the toggle to get the latest updates as soon as they’re avaialble in Windows Update.

Microsoft plans to release the first Windows 10 preview build for the Beta Channel in the coming weeks, but users can already opt their PC into the new channel today. On PCs that meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 11, users will still have the option to switch to the Canary or Dev channels. Choosing one of these two channels will initiate the Windows 11 upgrade, but there will be a small window to roll back to Windows 10.

Even though Windows 11 is continuing to gain market share, 68.34% of Windows users were still running Windows 10 as of May 2024, according to Statcounter. Windows 10 will likely remain the most popular version of Windows for a couple of years, especially as Microsoft plans to offer Extended Security Updates for Windows 10 for a maximum of three years after October 2025. For the first time, these paid security updates will also be available for consumers.