Windows 10 Insiders build 11082 with changes to OneCore, faster Insider builds on the way

Mark Coppock

Microsoft released Windows 10 Insiders build 11082 a few minutes ago, making its latest Windows Insider code available to the Fast Ring. This build doesn’t include any readily apparent changes, but rather focuses on firming up the underlying Windows 10 fundamentals.
Here’s what’s up, by way of King of the Red Button Gabe Aul:

With this build, you won’t see big noticeable changes or new features just yet. Right now, the team is focused on product improvements based on the feedback we’re hearing on the November update to Windows 10. This includes the changes that have also been going out as cumulative updates through Windows Update on your PCs running the Windows 10 November Update as well as on phones running Windows 10 too. We’re also working on some structural improvements to OneCore, which is the shared core of Windows across devices. Essentially, OneCore is the heart of Windows, and these improvements to OneCore make building Windows across PC, tablet, phone, IoT, Hololens and Xbox more efficient. We’re doing some code refactoring and other engineering work to make sure OneCore is optimally structured for teams to start checking in new features and improvements in the new year.

That all makes perfect sense, given that it’s the end of the year and everyone is getting ready for 2016. To that end, Gabe also provided an update on the Windows Insider program going forward. Essentially, Fast Ring Insiders can look forward to builds coming faster and faster as 2016 kicks off.

One of the things that I have heard many times from Insiders in the Fast ring is that they want to see a faster pace of build availability. We’ve been considering how we want to respond to this feedback, and in January we expect to pick up the pace. To do this, we are re-evaluating the ring promotion criteria to allow more builds to reach Windows Insiders. The new criteria will be much closer to our criteria for flighting to our internal rings, which means more builds will pass it and be released externally to the Fast ring. This also means however that the builds we release to the Fast ring may include more bugs and other issues that could be slightly more painful for some people to live with. It’s a tradeoff – as the thing that throttles the rate of builds is the promotion criteria.

This means more bugs, more problems, and more hassle to go with quicker access to new features and performance enhancements. The process to slow things down is simple: open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Advanced options, then slide over to the Slow Ring under “Get Insider Preview builds.”
Finally, you’ll need to head over to the Insider Hub to get a list of known issues, which will be the practice going forward. If you’re running a Windows Insider build, check out the Insider Hub and see what’s not going to work well.
And don’t forget: you can take a Windows Insider survey and get entered to win your very own Surface Book.