The Windows 10 19H2 Update, which is a minor update that will roll out later this Fall to all Windows 10 users will start shipping to select Insiders on the Release Preview Ring today. Interestingly, Microsoft is flighting a different build (18363.327) to a subset of Release Preview Insiders today, which isn’t the same as the latest 19H2 builds (18362.10014 and 18362.10015) that shipped to Slow Ring Insiders last week.
“We have been testing 19H2 with Insiders in the Slow ring using the same baseline build number as the May 2019 Update but with an increased revision number like we normally use to show a build has been serviced with a Cumulative Update. However, to designate 19H2 as a feature update, we are revising the baseline build number by one full build,” the Windows Insider team explained.
According to the team, up to 10% of “seekers” in the Release Preview ring will be able to download the 19H2 Build 18363.327 starting today. If you’ve been selected for what the team describes as a “throttled delivery approach,” you should see the update appear as “Windows 10, version 1909.”
The team also emphasized today that the build 18363.327 won’t be the final 19H2 build that will roll out to all Windows 10 users later this Fall. Moreover, this build doesn’t include all the new 19H2 features that Microsoft has been testing with select Insiders in the Slow Ring in recent weeks.
“Because of the differences between the way the 19H2 updates are packaged between the Slow and Release Preview rings, Insiders in the Slow ring will not be able to switch to the Release Preview ring and get updates yet. Insiders who are thinking of switching rings should stay put for now,” the team also explained.
If we understand things correctly, Microsoft is currently testing new 19H2 features with select Insiders in the Slow Ring, while shipping 19H2 builds with no new features to another subset of Slow Ring Insiders. Additionally, the company is now shipping a different 19H2 build to select Insiders in the Release Preview ring, which doesn’t include all the new features that the company has been testing with select Insiders in the Slow Ring.
Overall, this is probably the most complicated testing process the company has ever done since the launch of the Windows Insider program, and this is quite surprising considering the scope of 19H2. So far, Microsoft has been testing minor changes, such as the ability to enable third-party digital assistants to voice activate above the Lock screen.
The Windows 10 19H2 update (or 1909) is expected to start rolling out in October, and it will be the first Windows 10 feature update that installs just like a regular patch for Windows 10. Microsoft testing both the 20H1 and 19H2 updates simultaneously is pretty much unprecedented, and this certainly doesn’t make the Windows Insider program easier to understand for enthusiasts. Anyway, if you’re an Insider on the Release Preview ring, you now have a minor chance to download your first 19H2 build by checking for updates in Windows Update.
Further reading: 19H2, build 18363.327, slow ring, Windows 10, Windows Insider
