Analyst firm believes that Windows 8.1 has what it takes to excite

Jun 20, 2013 12:41 GMT  ·  By

Even though some people think that Windows 8.1 will do little to help the collapsing PC industry, analyst firm Gartner believes that its features could actually “quiet” all critics, especially because they are designed to make the OS more familiar.

Michael Silver and Steve Kleynhans, vice presidents in Gartner’s client computing team, said in a new report that Windows 8.1’s release could represent the right moment for everyone to make the move to Windows 8, especially because it packs plenty of improvements designed to address complaints sent by end users.

“After Microsoft unveiled Windows 8, the newly introduced user experience was criticized. Some users complained about the lack of discoverability, help or cues for the new user experience, and many rejected Windows 8 because of the changes. Based on the information currently available, we believe Windows 8.1 features could quiet most of its detractors,” the two analysts wrote in the report.

And still, organizations and businesses that are planning to deploy Windows 8.1 should first test compatibility of their apps with the operating system and only then make the move.

“More compatibility issues will likely arise from moving from IE 8 to IE 11 than with Win32 applications that run on Windows 7, but organizations will need to allocate time to test critical applications and understand vendor support policies. In the future, Windows will likely include more updates like 8.1, perhaps on an annual basis,” they added.

Based on the existing information, companies which are now moving to Windows 8 should complete the transition “if it makes sense,” but Gartner advises everyone to switch to Windows 8.1 beta as soon as possible.

Windows 8.1 Preview will officially make its public debut at the BUILD developer conference next week, while the stable version is expected to hit the market in August or September.