New source claims that Microsoft will launch a beta version of Windows 9 this fall

Aug 7, 2014 05:19 GMT  ·  By

Everybody knows that Windows 9 should hit the shelves sometime next year even though Microsoft loves secrecy more than anything else these days, at least as far as its next big operating system release is concerned.

But according to a new report, again coming via unofficial channels and citing sources from within the company, Windows 9 could get a public preview version this fall, meaning that users and pretty much everyone else could give a shot to the new OS before its official debut in April 2015.

Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley writes that “Microsoft is hoping to deliver a public preview of Threshold sometime in the fall of 2014,” which is most likely an indication that everything depends on how well development work of this new operating system goes in the next couple of months.

If the Windows 9 project advances as planned, expect Microsoft to introduce a public preview sometime this year, but if any issues are experienced, the company might actually push this beta back for a few months until everything is repaired.

The same goes for the final version of Windows 9 as well, with some sources close to the matter saying that Microsoft might very well delay the launch if any bugs are found throughout the development process. As a result, the company might launch another big update for Windows 8.1 instead of Windows 9, just to make sure that it keeps users fully up to date with a bunch of new improvements.

Windows 9 is very likely to bring back the Start menu, options to run Metro apps in dedicated windows on the desktop, and a preview version of Cortana, which might or might not be part of the first beta of the operating system that could arrive this year.

At the same time, word is that Microsoft could very well adopt another licensing model for Windows 9, with company executives trying to make it a very appealing product for everyone running a Windows version already, including XP, Vista, and 7 users. Previous reports said that Windows 9 could be free for these users through a brand new upgrade mechanism if hardware specifications allowed it.

This really sounds too good to be true, but keep in mind that everything is still in the rumor stage, so don’t take anything for granted right now. Microsoft doesn’t comment on future projects, but expect more information to surface in the coming months as we move closer to the public launch of the beta.