Understanding Windows 10 Client Release Branches

New features arrive at distinct times, depending on the branch that users or organizations elect to deploy on systems. The Current Branch receives feature upgrades first, after they exit the Windows Insider Preview program, roughly every four months. Three months of cumulative servicing updates (wrench icons shown here) every month are followed up with a new feature upgrade (gear icons shown here), which is an entire build of Windows. Home edition is required to participate in the Current Branch, while Pro and Enterprise can do so as well.

Just ahead of the feature upgrade, a snapshot is taken of the Current Branch, resulting in an entire feature upgrade of Windows that contains the latest servicing updates, resulting in the Current Branch for Business. Organizations can stay on Current Branch for Business builds until the second release following them is released, generally at least eight months later. For example, an organization that deployed build X would need to migrate to X+1 or X+2 in order to remain supported. Feature upgrades arrive in Current Branch for Business approximately four months after the Current Branch. Only Pro and Enterprise are eligible for the Current Branch for Business.