Tech

Microsoft “accidentally” shows the initial strokes of Windows 12

Everything indicates that Microsoft will once again change the development cycle of its operating systems to launch new versions every three years and this is where a Windows 12 planned for 2024 comes in. An outline of it has been revealed at the Ignite conference. Accidentally?

Microsoft has been busy this week with its autumn events and the presentation of the new generation of Surface devices has been followed by the Ignite conference of a marked business nature and whose main novelties have been published by our colleagues at MCPRO. Others like the name change from Office 365 to Microsoft 365 was sung and we talked about it yesterday.

Revolution or maintain the ecosystem?

Microsoft has pending a revolution in operating systems to leave behind a good part of legacy components that includes some derivatives of Windows 95, no less. You know the problem to take the step, to support at the same time the enormous Windows ecosystem in hardware and software. It does not seem to be possible (for the moment) that Windows Core OS that we have been talking about for years, nor does it strike down Win32 applications using virtualization technologies through “containers” as he once proposed. We will have to wait.

And meanwhile? When Microsoft released Windows 10 it assured that it would be «your latest operating system« in reference to the fact that others would not be necessary, since the continuous updating as a ‘rolling release’ would allow it to always be kept up to date. The company has not been able to sustain this model and went from two annual updates to one and finally released Windows 11.

Now Microsoft thinks of a new engineering schedule for Windows that would cause the company to return to a three-year release cycle for older versions. Or what is the same, a new Windows every three years. This cycle is not new and has already been used in Windows 7 or Vista. At the same time, to better keep the latest released version up to date, Microsoft would increase the release of new features with four releases per year. This engineering program is internally called “Moments”.

Windows 12

If all of the above is confirmed, Windows 11 would receive the last major update with the version ‘Sun Valley 3’ in 2023 and in 2024 Windows 12 would arrive. The version is in the early stages of planning and engineering and is codenamed ‘Next Valley’.

A first draft of it, as a screenshot, has appeared at the Ignite conference and shows changes in the user interface with a new floating taskbar at the bottom, system icons at the top right, a search box floating in the top center and the weather widget in the top left.

The image is of low resolution, but with that idea in Windows Central they have created another one where these elements are better seen.

It must be said that Microsoft plans a more extensive revamp of the user interface, including a new lock/login screen, notification center, and more. The general idea is to finally achieve a definitive interface to scale to any device, better optimized for touch screens, but without diminishing the experience for the millions of users who use Windows with a keyboard and mouse.

It must be remembered that Microsoft ‘exceeded the brakes’ in support for touch screens in Windows 8 causing a schism with the desktop. Windows 10, on the other hand, was the opposite, while Windows 11 is a mixture (quite incongruous by the way) of all this. Windows 12 should strike that balance and work the same on any form factor, including foldable devices. And maybe support mobile phones again.

We will have to wait. The pending “revolution” has not arrived with Windows 11 and neither will it with Windows 12. We almost settled for better stability, bug-free update delivery, and Microsoft finishing what was promised for the unfinished Windows 11.

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