Microsoft is testing a new way of testing app updates in Windows 10. The upcoming changes, if publicised, could radically change the Windows Insider program as we know it.

This week, Microsoft started testing a new preview program for Windows Camera, Microsoft Photos, Alarm and Clock, Feedback Hub, Tips, and some other core Windows 10 apps. The new preview programs, under the branding Windows App Previews, seem to be completely separate from the Windows Insider program — much like how one can beta test Android apps from the Google Play Store.

“You’ll be one of the first to try out new features in the preview version of Camera, and your feedback will shape the future of the app,” said the invite for the Windows Camera preview program. The messaging for the Feedback Hub program is similar, and they both resonate with Microsoft’s marketing strategy for the Insider program: shaping the future of Windows — in this case, the apps.

Microsoft is still keeping quiet about the new Windows App Previews program. The program has zero mentions of the Windows Insider program, so the change could be the first step towards separating app updates from the Insider program, one which would be a welcome change for many as you’d no longer need to be running the often buggy Insider preview releases of Windows 10 to be able to test new app updates.

Tagged with Windows 10, Windows App Previews, Windows Insider