It is now time to take a look back at the month of February 2021 and see how builds are rolling for #WindowsInsiders across the three development channels (Dev, Beta, and Release Preview).

February 2021 returned to some normality when it comes to pace and seeing some new stuff land in the Dev Channel as expected.

In February, the first Windows 10 21H1 build was made available as an optional install for #WindowsInsiders seekers in the Beta Channel. 

As for the Release Preview Channel, monthly cumulative update previews for Windows 10 (Version 20H2) production builds continue to get tested in that channel.

Let’s look at how February 2021 progressed for all three #WindowsInsider Channels.

#DevChannel

Dev Channel continued to crank out Windows 10 (vNext) builds for testing. The first build of the month (21301.1010) was just a servicing pipeline test.

Also of note, beginning with Build 21313, the version name of builds released in this channel will be labelled as “Dev” since they are not tied to any specific release of Windows 10.

Windows 10 (Version Dev)
Windows 10 (Version Dev)

This continues Microsoft’s emphasis on this being a pure test branch with features being tested, modified, and even removed without much notice.

As for new features, Dev Channel did see some in February:

  • News and Interests taskbar app expanded to more languages and markets
  • Microsoft Edge based on chromium replaced legacy Microsoft Edge in this build
  • Paste as plain text in clipboard history (WINDOWS KEY + V)

Of course, there are always a string of other changes, enhancements, and fixes across all of these builds as expected. Check out the release notes for each build to really drill down on those areas.

#BetaChannel & #ReleasePreviewChannel

Just as in past months, the updates for these two channels are mirrored in February as well. However, in March they will diverge as Beta Channel testers will get Windows 10 21H1 pushed as a recommended update – which has already happened on March 2, 2021.

That first Beta Channel 21H1 update is 19043.844.

Release Preview is right where it is supposed to be with Windows 10 (Version 20H2) cumulative updates being tested ahead of their release to production versions of Windows 10 on 20H2.

What’s Next?

We seem to have all three #WindowsInsiders channels in place now with their testing branches now on track.

Now let’s see how long this all lasts!

Happy Testing #WindowsInsiders!

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