Microsoft Rolls Out Windows Cumulative Update, Tests New Update Targeting Framework

Microsoft released a new Cumulative Update, KB4022716, to Slow ring members of the Windows Insider Program. The company also said that it plans to test a new targeting framework on Slow ring members to improve the way it releases Windows 10 updates to the general population.

KB4022716 is focused entirely on bug fixes--none of the features introduced in recent Windows 10 Preview Builds to Fast ring members of the Windows Insider Program are included. This is supposed to give Slow ring members the chance to test stability improvements without having to use the unfinished included with the Preview Builds. You can find a full list of improvements made in KB4022716 in Microsoft's release notes.

Microsoft said in a blog post that Slow ring members will get a chance to experiment with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update in "the coming weeks." That build is likely to include at least some of the features released to Fast ring members, which range from the expansion of the new Fluent Design system to GPU performance tracking in Task Manager, as Microsoft prepares the next major update to Windows 10 for its official launch.

The company plans to use this upcoming build to test a new update targeting framework. This should help Microsoft decide who gets access to major Windows 10 updates at launch. We got a glimpse at this with the Windows 10 Creators Update released earlier this year: You could decide to install the update a week before its official release, manually update the day it debuted, or wait for Microsoft to decide your device was ready to update.

Here's how Microsoft explained the reasoning behind testing this update targeting framework on Windows Insider Program members:

When we release a new Windows 10 Fall Creators Update build to Insiders in the Slow ring, they can wait to be targeted to install the new build, or instead of waiting Insiders can manually check for updates via Windows Update to get the new build. We know this is different from our usual 'everyone at once' model to the WIP rings, however this testing will provide invaluable insights to ensure this new targeting framework is functioning as expected.

We'll find out how big an impact this new framework has when the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update debuts later this year. Microsoft hasn't provided a firm release date for the update, but given its season-specific name, we expect it to land sometime in September or October. In the meantime, you can sign up for the Windows Insider Program if you don't feel like waiting for the smorgasbord of new features to reach the masses.