Microsoft tests out new update mechanism for Windows 11 in recent beta build for Dev channel

After about a month of absence, Microsoft launched a new Windows 11 beta build for insiders in the Dev channel. Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26120.1252, or the KB5038603 update, apparently rolls out under a new update mechanism, and that is the checkpoint cumulative update.

The mechanism, designed to make the update process more efficient, is unlike the traditional updating system that accumulates all changes since the original release. Instead, it works by creating incremental updates from the last checkpoint rather than the original release.

When an update is released, it sets a “checkpoint.” Subsequent updates only contain the changes made since this checkpoint, rather than all changes since the OS was first released. This results in smaller, faster downloads and installations, as only the new changes need to be applied.

Microsoft then says in a separate blog post that this method results in smaller, faster downloads and installations, improving efficiency and reducing the required bandwidth and storage—a mechanism that’s present in the new, AI-friendly Windows 11 24H2 version.

“Windows 11 quality updates use servicing technology and are built cumulatively from the time when a new Windows OS was “released to manufacturing” (RTM). These monthly updates include all the changes since RTM in the form of binary differentials computed from the initial version of those binaries,” Microsoft explains.

Besides this, Microsoft also brings previously-tested features and other miscellaneous. The weather widget on the lock screen, which also rolled out for the Canary channel last week, is also here, among fixes and improvements.