Windows 10 RTM Build Will be released soon
Windows 10 RTM is scheduled to ship to non-testers on July 29, 2015.
RTM versions are typically released to manufacturers before they are released to the general public so that the manufacturers can work out any bugs the software may encounter with hardware devices.
In short order Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) closed out the fourth of July weekend by delivering not one, but two fresh Windows 10 builds to Fast Ring Insider Preview testers. Builds 10159 and 10162 bring minimal superficial changes on the surface, but based on my testing they bring a number of bugfixes (the last test build, for instance, broke the click to display instance feature on the taskbar, on my machine, the update fixed it).
Neowin is reporting that the flurry of test builds is a prelude to the completion of a master build of the new operating system, otherwise known as the release to manufacturing (RTM) build. Neowin’s editor-in-chief Brad Sams reports:
It’s a busy time in Redmond, Washington as Microsoft is preparing to sign off on its most ambitious Windows release to date. Windows 10, which is in the final stages of testing right now, is expected to be signed off this week, according to our internal sources….This week, the company will complete their initial testing and sign off the OS, or what many refer to as RTM (Release to Manufacturing). But this does not mean that the OS is done – far from it, as Microsoft will continue to add new features with the first set arriving this fall, and then there is Redstone that will be delivered next year.
Tom Warren, the editor over at The Verge, claims this is what he’s heard as well, writing:
Microsoft is planning to finalize Windows 10 this week, ahead of its official launch later this month. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the company is currently working on final copies of Windows 10, with a release to manufacturing (RTM) build expected later this week. RTM candidate builds have already been spotted online. Once the RTM build is ready, Microsoft will send the final copy of Windows 10 to its PC partners ahead of a release to the public on July 29th.
Paul Thurrott also believes it may happen, commenting:
No surprises here, but separately-sourced reports suggest that Microsoft will finalize, or RTM (release to manufacturing), Windows 10 this week, setting the stage for the system’s late July release….These reports bear out what I was told by Dell last week, that Windows 10 would need to be delivered to PC makers within day’s in order for PC makers to deliver new hardware to retail stores in the US in time for July 29, Windows 10’s initial launch day. But I don’t really need to independently confirm these reports: Both writers are credible and reliable, and common sense tells us that Windows 10 will need to be finalized soon.
As the above comment states, it’s practically a given that the RTM build would land this week or next week, given that Microsoft will surely want a bit of lead time prior to its July 29 mass rollout to end users.
Sources: Neowin, The Verge, Thurrott