14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already rolled out Windows 8.1 Update, but the company is now working on a second pack of improvements that could be released sometime this year and brings several improvements to the modern platform.
According to new details that reached the web this morning, Microsoft is already working on Windows 8.1 Update 2, which is another sign that this OS version is very likely to hit the shelves in just a few months.
Microsoft has already confirmed at the BUILD 2014 developer conference that it's working on a second update for Windows 8.1, but only a few details have actually been confirmed.
Windows 8.1 Update 2 will come with a new Start menu that would try to make the modern operating system a bit more familiar and thus bring back the full functionality of the desktop available in all Windows versions before Windows 8.
What's more, the company revealed a mockup of this new Start menu at the BUILD conference, confirming that the future design would mix live tiles and elements of the classic Start menu integrated into Windows 7, as well as power options and a search box.
Terry Myerson, head of the OS department at Microsoft, also revealed at BUILD that a second Windows 8.1 update would come with options to run Metro apps in their very own windows right on the desktop, in another attempt to make the Modern environment a bit more helpful on the traditional PC.
“I previewed some work we are doing for the next iteration of Windows, which builds on the journey we began with Windows 8 just over a year ago as well as the releases we’ve done since then. In particular, I showed some early thinking on how the user experience in Windows will evolve in a way that will help developers’ apps make their way to users across devices and form factors,” Myerson explained.
Microsoft claims that all these improvements aren't a sign that it's going in reverse, but a way to make the operating system more useful on the traditional PC and for users who are still relying on a mouse and keyboard as the main input method on their computers.
Windows 8.1 Update 2 is expected to debut in August, according to people close to the matter, but Microsoft might delay the release a little bit depending on how well the development process of the new OS update advances.