.NET Framework 4.7.1 is the next version of the .NET Framework, which is going to ship with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. Microsoft, in a blog post, announced the availability of 'Early Access Preview Build' of .NET Framework 4.7.1.
It's now a feature complete build and running under testing phase. If you are a Windows Insider, you can start validating your applications running on the latest version.
The .NET Framework 4.7 is the latest version of the .NET Framework. It can be used for production deployments on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, and later versions of both the client and server Windows families. The .NET Framework 4.7.1 will be the next version of the .NET Framework and can be installed (build: 2538) on the following Windows versions:
- Windows 7 SP1
- Windows 8.1
- Windows 10 Anniversary Update
- Windows 10 Creators Update
- Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
There are a bunch of improvements in several areas of the .NET Framework 4.7.1, that includes: .NET Framework support for .NET Standard 2.0, Enhancements in the Visual Tree for WPF applications, Accessibility improvements in keyboard navigation, narration, high contrast and focus control areas, Support for the more secure SHA256 hashing algorithm, Performance, reliability and many more.
You can install .NET Framework 4.7.1 Early Access from GitHub at: https://github.com/Microsoft/dotnet-framework-early-access/blob/master/README.md, review and accept the pre-release license terms and then you will be able to download the current build 2538.
You can access the complete list of improvements present in .NET Framework 4.7.1, by visiting the 'Release Notes', available here: .NET Framework 4.7.1 Release Notes. It describes the product improvements grouped by product area. Each change includes a Microsoft-internal VSTS bug ID, the primary binary that was updated and whether the change was a bug or a feature. Point to note that, there are no known issues in the current build 2538, released on 7th August 2017.