Microsoft slates Build dev conference for March 30-April 1
Build 2016 will again take place in San Francisco's Moscone Center, the venue Microsoft has used the last three years, and the same hall where both Apple and Google also run their annual developer gatherings.
Registration for Build 2016 has not yet been set. But if the Redmond, Wash. company uses the same timeline as it did this year, it will kick off sign-up in late December on the conference's website.
Prices for the Wednesday-through-Friday event have not been revealed, but the last three years the entry fee has been $2,095. Tickets typically sell out quickly, with supplies exhausted in about 24 and 31 hours, respectively, in 2013 and 2014. Earlier this year, Build 2015 sold out in under than an hour.
Not surprisingly, Build 2015 focused on Windows 10, which was then in its final months of beta testing. Build 2016 will probably be no different: Microsoft has committed to releasing two to three annual feature upgrades. Under that schedule, Microsoft would presumably issue at least one upgrade in each half of a year. If so, it would promote the next feature-and-functionality refresh at Build.
While Microsoft had previously said it would upgrade Windows 10 three times a year -- roughly every four months -- lately it has been emphasizing two to three, signaling that it will go for a slower cadence. Analysts have speculated that Microsoft will stick to that twice-annual schedule for several years as its engineers become familiar, and more comfortable with, the tempo.
Microsoft will almost certainly live-stream the opening keynote for Build 2016 on March 30; the presentation is usually one of the company's most important of the year, with CEO Satya Nadella and other top executives taking the stage to tout new developer opportunities.
Developers may register for additional information about Build 2016 by providing their email address in a form accessible from the conference's site.