Why I basically stopped being a Windows Insider

When Microsoft announced the Windows Insider program I was super excited. I enjoy playing with beta software and giving feedback on what I think works and what needs more work. I use Windows all day at work and at home. At the time the Insider program launched I was a Windows Phone users and excited to see how Microsoft would improve their mobile platform and how they might build cross device experiences between Windows and Windows Phone.

Obviously today Windows Phone is gone and now Microsoft has hitched their wagon to Android. This strategy makes sense, but I use an iPhone so I’ve been watching the desktop and phone synergy from the sidelines. Now a big reason why I’d get and Android phone would be due to all of the Windows 10 integrations.

Even with activity around Your Phone it feels like the Windows Insider program is a shell of its former self. No major features, no serious redesigns, A/B testing everywhere, and most of the features which fill the blog posts these days are incredibly minor. For example: Optional Feature list Multi-select, Zooming on Snip & Sketch, Toast Notification icon on the toast, etc. These little improvements are important for users of Windows, but this isn’t my idea of the Windows Insider program.

Perhaps this is a transitional period for Windows. With leadership changing and shifting, new Edge being developed, a refocus on productivity and stability. I hope Microsoft keeps trying to improve how millions of people everyday use Windows for work and play. And if the Windows team gets the green light to build bigger features, maybe the insider program will become interesting again.

But for now there isn’t enough in the Windows Insider program keeping me interested to wade through all of the confusion and minutiae.

Does anyone else feel the same? Will the excitement every return or is it a slow march toward the sunset?