Microsoft is still preparing to finalize Windows 10 in time for a July launch. AMD CEO Lisa Su originally revealed the Windows 10 July launch plans in an earnings call back in April, but Microsoft has not officially commented on the date other than restating that the operating system will launch in the summer. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans have revealed to The Verge that the company has been targeting a late July release for months now, and that it's still on track. We understand that July 29th was one of a few target dates discussed, and that the company is trying to finalize the code (release to manufacturing) by the end of June. Microsoft had considered announcing a Windows 10 launch date at Build on April 29th, marking three months until a launch, but the company wasn't ready to commit to a date it might not meet. Russian leaker WZor originally claimed earlier this week that the Windows 10 release is "confirmed for July 2015."

Questions remain whether Windows 10 will be ready without a number of bugs in time for July, but Microsoft is on track and pushing to get the operating system out to machines as a free upgrade. Current Windows 10 testers will likely be the first to receive the final version of the OS ahead of any public upgrades. Internally, Microsoft is close to code completion where Windows 10 is locked in a particular state and engineers start working on squashing bugs instead of adding new features. Unlike previous Windows releases, there will be a smaller gap between the release to manufacturing process, where the OS is delivered to OEMs in preparation for new machines, and it's availability as an upgrade to download and install. Microsoft has been refining its upgrade process throughout the Windows 10 development process, and the company has been making a number of preview builds available just days or weeks after they were compiled internally.

Windows 10 preview builds will continue after launch

That preview process will continue once Windows 10 is released, and the launch marks just one point in time for the new operating system. Microsoft is transforming its development processes to be service and update driven, allowing Windows 10 to receive regular feature updates in the future. Those updates will be previewed to Windows insiders, and then gradually rolled out to machines. Some features, like extension support in Microsoft Edge, won't make the July launch for Windows 10 and will be delivered later in the year. Microsoft is also planning for a number of larger feature changes in an update wave codenamed "Redstone" for 2016.