14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 Update 1 is the next important thing for Windows users, as Microsoft is planning to roll out a major pack of improvements for all those who made the switch to the modern platform sometime in April.
While Microsoft has already confirmed that Windows 8.1 Update 1 would be released sometime this spring, the company has refused to tell exactly when this is going to happen, so nobody knows for sure whether the launch will take place in March or April.
Windows leaker WZor however claims that Windows 8.1 Update 1 would be launched for MSDN subscribers in late March, so expect the official ISOs to be leaked at about the same time.
What’s more, new information claims that Windows 8.1 Update 1 might be released by Microsoft on April 1 in order to give developers attending the BUILD developer conference (which opens its doors on April 2) the chance to try out the operating system and communicate with Microsoft directly on the improvements it made to the platform.
According to Microsoft itself, Windows 8.1 Update 1 would bring improvements for the traditional mouse and keyboard configuration, so the desktop would be greatly enhanced in this build.
“We are making improvements to the user interface that will naturally bridge touch and desktop, especially for our mouse and keyboard users. We have a number of targeted UI improvements that keep our highly satisfying touch experience intact, but that make the UI more familiar and more convenient for users with mouse/keyboard,” Joe Belfiore of Microsoft recently said.
“Don’t worry, we still LOVE and BELIEVE IN touch… but you’ll like how much more smooth and convenient these changes make mouse and keyboard use!”
Windows 8.1 Update 1 is going to be offered free of charge to Windows 8.1 users via Windows Update, which means that all issues that could appear due to a Windows Store download are very unlikely in the upcoming release.
At the same time, Update 1 is expected to require a fully up-to-date Windows 8.1 installation comprising all cumulative updates and rollup releases that got to see the daylight since October, so make sure you update your computer to be prepared for the new version.
Several leaks are already available for download in the form of stand-alone ISOs or MSU packs that can update an existing Windows 8.1 installations, so users who’d like to try out the new OS version can do so by deploying one of these builds.