What is RTM (Windows)?

The term "RTM" often appears in connection with Windows. But what is that actually? We explain the meaning of RTM and other related terms.

Windows: what does RTM mean?

The abbreviation RTM stands for "Release To Manufacturing". Translated, the term means something like "released for production".
In most cases, the term RTM appears in connection with Windows. It is the final version of a new version of Windows that is distributed to the manufacturers. The hardware and software can then be coordinated before the operating system reaches the end user.
Example: Microsoft is currently working on Windows 10, which should appear in the near future. The final version is called RTM. This will be published and sold after appropriate adjustments.

In addition to the finished RTM version, there are other terms that Windows uses when developing and publishing its operating systems.
In Windows 10, the "Technical Preview" was published first. This was a first test version of Windows 10 that every user could install. However, this was not yet stable.
The "Insider Preview" followed a few months later. Windows 10 was so far developed that the system hardly crashed and could already be used productively.
If Windows 10 is completed at the end of July 2015, we will speak of the RTM version. In the past, Microsoft also used the terms "consumer preview" and "release preview".