There have been many commits since v1.9.4 and it's definitely overdue for the next release. There have been many changes so it's beyond v1.9.5, but the code is not yet ready for v2.0, so v1.10.0 makes sense.

PRs/issues to try and resolve before the release are:

• top: Add CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md document from www.contributor-covenant.org. top: Add CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md document from www.contributor-covenant.org. #4358
• DHT22 driver on esp8266 stopped working between v1.9.3 and master DHT22 driver on esp8266 stopped working between v1.9.3 and master #4233
• esp8266: UART(0) activation for REPL even if expressly deactivated esp8266: UART(0) activation for REPL even if expressly deactivated #4314
• py/mpconfig: Move MICROPY_VERSION macros to static ones in mpconfig.h. py/mpconfig: Move MICROPY_VERSION macros to static ones in mpconfig.h. #4357
• tools/micropip.py Add CPython tool to install libraries on a PC. tools/micropip.py Add CPython tool to install libraries on a PC. #3591
• Documentation for ESP32 Documentation for ESP32 #3658
• ESP32: Hangs when reopening WiFi connection ESP32: Hangs when reopening WiFi connection #4269
• [ESP32] Neopixels not working correctly [ESP32] Neopixels not working correctly #4396
• docs/library/machine.I2C.rst: Extend writeto to support a list of bufs. docs/library/machine.I2C.rst: Extend writeto to support a list of bufs. #4020 - no longer a priority
• docs: Specify new machine.ADC and machine.ADCBlock classes docs: Specify new machine.ADC and machine.ADCBlock classes #4213 - no longer a priority
• docs/machine: Specify new class machine.PWM. docs/machine: Specify new class machine.PWM. #4237 - no longer a priority