The next generation of Windows moves closer to a public debut today with the release of Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.100 to Windows Insider Beta Channel members.
Microsoft divides the Windows Insider Program into three channels: the Dev Channel, the Beta Channel, and the Release Channel. Builds are supposed to become increasingly stable as they make their way through these channels ahead of their official release to the general public.
Previous Windows 11 Preview Builds were released to the Dev Channel. So was Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.100—it originally debuted on July 22. Now, one week later, Microsoft appears to have deemed the build stable enough to reach the Beta Channel.
Microsoft says the Beta Channel release of Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.100 “will not have Chat from Microsoft Teams,” which started rolling out to Dev Channel testers alongside this build, but it “will be looking to enable this for the Beta Channel in the coming weeks.”
The company also says it was made aware of a few more issues affecting Windows 11 Preview Build 22000.100 by its Dev Channel testers. Aside from those caveats, however, the Beta Channel release appears to be identical to the version that debuted on July 22.
In addition to increasing the availability of Windows 11 preview builds, this expansion to the Beta Channel gives Windows Insider Program members who only switched to the Dev Channel so they could poke around a new OS a chance to start using more stable builds again.
The next stop on Windows 11’s journey to public availability is the Release Channel of the Windows Insider Program. Microsoft is expected to release Windows 11 for new hardware sometime later this year, and devices running Windows 10 should be able to update in 2022.
If you want to play around with pre-release Windows 11, here’s how to join Windows Insider.
