According to a new report, the rate at which Microsoft releases new versions of Windows may be slowing down, while the rate at which Microsoft is releasing new Windows features may be accelerating. In other words, that means Windows 12 won’t arrive until 2024.
Windows Central reports that Microsoft may revert to a three-year release cycle for major Windows releases, as happened with Windows 11.
But instead of releasing feature sets for the current version of Windows, either in the fall (as happened now in September with the update dubbed 22H2, or as the previous Windows Update in May) , Microsoft may increase the update rate four times a year.
This would be a significant change, because on the one hand it would make Windows 11 less wacky and just go back to a more normal release schedule where builds get more testing time while they cook.
We all remember when a Microsoft staffer made a misleading claim that “Windows 10 would be the last Windows,” making Windows 11 seem like a one-time release. Apparently it wasn’t, and Windows 10 is set to end support in 2025.
However, if the report Windows Central true, that pushes the next major release of Windows to 2024, three years after Microsoft released Windows 11 in 2021. Microsoft has yet to confirm all of those details.
The other big implication for regular users of the operating system is that Windows feature updates should become increasingly common. According Windows CentralMicrosoft plans to start rolling them out in what it calls “Moments,” or feature packs that ship at certain times of the year.
So far, those release dates don’t seem to have been set. Microsoft typically releases feature updates for Windows 10 and 11 twice a year, in spring and fall.
It’s not really new. Microsoft said last February that it was exploring new ways to implement new features for Windows on its own schedule. Microsoft said it would do this using “experience packs”, code snippets that appear in
These new features will simply appear. Microsoft has also put several Windows apps on its own release schedule, updated with the windows 11 appearanceor add new features.
For consumers, the new changes can be a little unsettling, as the terrain changes along with the usual time the company has accustomed us to.
On the other hand, those who like and appreciate the new features and novelties with which to try to be more productive, will be delighted.
However, companies tend to avoid unexpected updates that might introduce new bugs, so Windows 11 business customers will likely have the option of opting out.
As a final conclusion, if the report is accurate, we would have that Windows 12 is only two years away.
Take a look at our article on How to Uninstall Windows 11 and Revert to Windows 10.
Original article published by Mark Hachman in PC World United States.
