Microsoft is changing the way it updates Windows and its starting to sound like Windows 12 wont happen

Date:
Fri, 08 Dec 2023 13:19:35 +0000

Description:
Got used to the constant drip of Moment feature updates for Windows? Well, that approach could be changed next year.

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Windows 12 may not be happening after all, or at least that seems to be the way the rumor mill is suddenly tilting and Microsoft is also changing how itll update its desktop OS in the future, were told.

This fresh info comes from Zac Bowden of Windows Central , a well-known
leaker on all things Microsoft.

Bowden tells us that the next version of Windows ( codenamed Hudson Valley ) will be highly AI-focused ( quelle surprise ) and Microsoft is planning to launch it in September or October 2024 but the final name is a marketing decision that hasnt yet been made.

However, the leaker claims that sources inside Microsoft are doubtful as to whether itll be Windows 12. The reason? Microsoft is apparently wary of fragmenting the user base further with another release that has a different name and we totally get where that line of thought is coming from (well return to discuss that shortly).

This doesnt rule out Windows 12, of course, but it certainly sounds like Microsoft is edging towards sticking with another release of Windows 11 for the next incarnation.

Bowden also chews over purported changes to the way Windows updates are delivered, and sources inside Microsoft have indicated that therell be a return to a big annual feature update with fewer Moment (smaller) feature updates.

Currently, were getting a raft of Moment updates were up to Moment 4 this year, with a fifth planned for February or March next year and an annual upgrade ( 23H2 this year ) which was somewhat smaller in terms of its feature count (as lots of features had been introduced with those Moment updates already).

Next year, with fewer Moment updates were told these will still exist, but will be used sparingly the big upgrade for later in 2024 (Hudson Valley)
will be a chunkier affair. In short, Microsoft is putting more emphasis on
the major annual update going forward, or thats the theory. Analysis: Two buckets are better than three

So, if Microsoft goes the route of making Hudson Valley an all-new release called Windows 12 (or another alternative Windows AI, maybe), whats the danger of fragmentation referred to here?

Well, if Windows 12 came out next year, wed have a bunch of folks leaping to that OS, a bunch still on Windows 11, and a whole load of users still running Windows 10 (stuck behind a hardware upgrade barrier in many cases either because they dont have TPM functionality on their PC, or their CPU is too old).

This would be diluting the user base over three buckets instead of two, if
you will, which does feel like a clumsy approach, and servicing all this will end up a clunkier, harder-to-manage process, too.

Funnily enough, we just saw a leak suggesting Windows 11 24H2 is incoming , which is what the name of Hudson Valley will doubtless be if Microsoft sticks with Windows 11 so this lends a bit more weight to the speculation here.

Again, this doesnt rule out Windows 12, of course but it is starting to feel somewhat less likely. You might also like... Has Microsoft rolled out the
last big Windows 11 update before Windows 12? This stunning Windows 12
concept video shows us everything Windows 11 is missing Dont make these 5 big mistakes when using Windows 11



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsoft-is-changing-the-way-it-u pdates-windows-and-its-starting-to-sound-like-windows-12-wont-happen


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