Product Release

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What Does Product Release Mean?

A product release is the process of launching a new product for a specific market or user base. In software development, a product release is sometimes done with a beta version so that core developers/users can assist with debugging and feedback prior to the release of the actual software.

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Techopedia Explains Product Release

The product release is part PR and marketing. A good release will create buzz and create demand of the actual product before its formal launch. That being said, a release is still important from a technical perspective — when done well, a product release can get valuable feedback from the power users. This buys time to make improvements, fix bugs, etc. prior to release to the general public.

Note that in some contexts a product release refers to the date where the public can buy a product. In software development, there are usually releases prior to the final product. For example, for a major product from Microsoft, you’ll often see “release candidate 1,” “release candidate 2,” etc.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.