In a huge shift, Microsoft may be preparing Windows 12 for 2024.
Another big change to Microsoft Windows development.
Microsoft is altering the way it publishes major versions of Windows once more, which might lead to the release of Windows 12 in 2024. According to Windows Central, Microsoft is returning to a three-year release cycle for Windows, which means the next major version of Windows will be released in 2024. It is yet another significant shift in how Microsoft produces Windows.
With the release of Windows 10 in 2015, Microsoft abandoned its three-year cycle, preferring the concept of Windows as a service. Instead of a major feature release every three years in a new Windows version, Windows 10 was upgraded twice a year with major new features. After a Microsoft employee labeled Windows 10 as “the last version of Windows,” many Windows watchers assumed it would be the final big bang release of Windows.
Microsoft never disregarded the views, instead calling them “representative of the way Windows will be provided as a service, providing new innovations and upgrades on an ongoing basis.” With the release of Windows 11 last year, Microsoft switched to a yearly update cycle for both Windows 10 and 11.
Given Microsoft’s decision to use the Windows 11 branding, it’s logical to anticipate every subsequent major version of Windows to have different branding. Because Microsoft has yet to include Windows 11.1 or 11.2 in its big Windows 11 upgrades, many will be asking if Windows 12 is on the way.
Microsoft intends to keep Windows 11 current in the years ahead, alongside the next version of Windows in 2024. In recent months, Microsoft has backed away from its original promise of large yearly upgrades for Windows 11, preferring to launch important improvements when they are ready. After being recently completed by Microsoft, the next big upgrade, 22H2, is likely to come in September or October.
Microsoft has apparently abandoned plans for a comparable large 23H2 yearly upgrade in 2023, instead focusing on handing out new features throughout the year. This is more in keeping with Microsoft’s recent improvements to its Windows Insider program, in which more experiments and prototype features are being extensively evaluated.
Microsoft has not made an official statement on its Windows future goals. After the epidemic increased Windows usage, the business has refocused its efforts on Windows during the last two years. Microsoft had planned to debut Windows 10X on dual-screen devices at the start of the pandemic, but after announcing “the PC is back” at the start of the epidemic, it moved on to rework 10X into what became Windows 11.