The company could name its next major upgrade Windows 9

Apr 9, 2013 15:01 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has already confirmed that it’s working on the internally-codenamed Blue upgrade that’s expected to bring quite a lot of improvements to the Windows 8 platform and help it boost the rather disappointing sales.

At the same time, rumor has it that Windows 9 is also in the works, with some sources close to the matter revealing that November 2014 could witness the launch of the next-generation Windows version.

But just like Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet points out, Microsoft might end up bringing Windows 9 to the market a lot sooner, most likely in an attempt to distance itself from Windows 8.

Basically, the success recorded by Windows 8 so far isn’t quite encouraging for the Redmond-based technology giant, even though the company has invested big in advertising all over the world.

While Windows 8.1 is indeed expected to bring quite a lot of improvements, Microsoft may decide to call it Windows 9 just to make sure it distances itself from the controversial Windows 8.

While that could really make sense for some users, bringing Windows 9 to the market so soon might be a wrong marketing decision, especially because Windows 8 needs more time to succeed.

According to some insiders, Windows 9 will retain the controversial Start Screen and some other Metro features, which are basically the most criticized changes released together with Windows 8. As a result, Windows 9 could fail to impress too, so bringing it to the market so soon is a very risky decision.

On the other hand, it’s rumored that Windows 9 might actually go live sometime next year, with the first public beta of the OS in the pipeline to see daylight in January next year.

The final version of the operating system is reportedly projected to hit the shelves in November 2014, more than one year after 8.1 is unveiled.