There will be nine total Windows 8 SKUs, Consumer Preview registry shows

Mar 2, 2012 12:53 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has just made available for download the Consumer Preview flavor of its Windows 8 operating system, yet people are already interested in learning what the future might have in store for them.

Apparently, there might be nine different versions of Windows 8 set to arrive on shelves, at least this is what some enthusiasts found in the Consumer Preview’s registry.

Among them, we can count the Ultimate SKU that was rumored only a few days ago to have been scrapped from books.

Microsoft hasn’t made official info on its plans on the matter, but it appears that there will indeed be more Windows flavors, including some unheard of before.

The full list of Windows 8 SKUs reportedly includes:

Windows 8 Starter edition Windows 8 Home Basic Edition Windows 8 Home Premium edition Windows 8 Professional edition Windows 8 Professional Plus edition Windows 8 Enterprise Edition Windows 8 Ultimate edition Windows 8 ARM edition

Previously leaked info on the matter suggested that Microsoft might have decided to reduce the number of Windows versions for the next platform release.

Apparently, not only is Microsoft keeping the previously known SKUs, but it is also adding a new one into the mix, the Professional Plus version (the Windows 8 ARM edition is new as well, but it was made official last year).

Since the Windows 7 registry does not make reference to the Professional Plus edition, little is known on what it might include.

Hopefully, Microsoft will be offering some more details on this as soon as next week, during CeBIT in Germany.

The company announced at the Mobile World Congress that it will be offering some more info on the Windows 8 platform at the said event in Germany.

There, it is expected to detail the Enterprise editions and features of the platform. CeBIT kicks off on March 6th, so stay tuned for more on the matter.

You can download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Build 8250 from Softpedia via this link.