14 DAY TRIAL // As we've reported yesterday, Microsoft has already started work on a third Windows 8.1 update that could bring even more features to the company's existing modern platform and thus boost adoption just before the debut of Windows 9.
Microsoft hasn't commented on such an update for Windows 8.1, but according to people familiar with the matter, Update 3 might be launched in early 2015, a couple of months before the arrival of Windows 9, which is actually the next full version of Windows.
As far as the features to be implemented in this new update are concerned, it might appear that Update 3 might be the lucky one to bring back the Start menu.
While everyone expected to see the Start menu going live in Windows 8.1 Update 2, which is scheduled to be unveiled in August or September, people close to the matter said that Microsoft was very likely to delay the launch until early 2015.
Of course, everyone expected the return of the Start menu to take place in Windows 9 if this delay is indeed happening, but it appears that Redmond might actually be working on something totally unexpected.
The company said at the BUILD 2014 developer conference in April that the Start menu would debut in a future Windows 8.1 update, but it never mentioned anything regarding this date. People were tempted to believe that Windows 8.1 Update 2 would do it, but it turns out that the software giant has been thinking about Update 3 since that month.
Windows 8.1 Update 3 could debut just before Windows 9 and that would indeed be perfect timing to make sure that everyone has a chance to try out the modern platform and thus pave the road for the new operating system.
There are no other details regarding the features to be part of Windows 8.1 Update 3 and Microsoft is yet to confirm if the Start menu has indeed been delayed or not. And still, it's pretty clear that Microsoft has every reason in the world to tweak its platform ahead of the launch of Windows 9 in order to give the new OS version a chance to succeed.
Windows 9 in its turn is also supposed to bring some pretty big changes, including a desktop version of Cortana, Microsoft's personal assistant that's currently available on Windows Phone 8.1 exclusively, but said to be arriving on other platforms in the coming months.