14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is already working on Windows 9, and although not much is known at this point about it, information provided by people close to the matter indicates that this is going to be a really significant revamp of the desktop operating system.
Analysts believe that Microsoft cannot afford to make a second mistake with another Windows version that would fail to meet expectations.
Stephen Kleynhans, an analyst at research firm Gartner, says in an interview with Seattle Times that although it failed to excite, Windows 8 was a necessary product that paved the way for a much more advanced product that’s very likely to hit the market as Windows 9.
Windows 8 was only paving the way for Windows 9
As a result, Windows 9 has all the chances in the world to become the next Windows 7 version, as it’s very likely to succeed and convince more users to switch from old builds to modern ones.
“Windows 8 was a necessary step to get to Windows 9. It created the underpinnings of the ecosystem that is going to drive them forward in the future. I think Windows 9 will benefit from what happened with Windows 8, much the way that Windows 7 reaped the benefits of Windows Vista,” he said, while also explaining that Windows 9 could also be called a “let’s try that again” of Microsoft.
Windows 9 is indeed going to address the majority of complaints in Windows 8 and introduce some really important improvements, including a Start menu.
Start menu and plenty of new features
Microsoft announced the return of the Start menu in April 2014 at the BUILD 2014 developer conference, but the company originally said that this feature should be introduced in a new Windows 8.1 update.
It turns out, however, that plans have changed in the meantime, and Windows 9 is now going to feature pretty much everything users have asked for in the last couple of years, including multiple desktops and options to run Modern apps right on the desktop.
In addition, Windows 9 is very likely to come with a desktop version of Cortana and a notification center inspired from Windows Phone that would enable consumers to stay up to date with everything happening on their computers.
Microsoft has, however, refused to comment on Windows 9 until now, but the company is expected to hold a press conference on September 30 to detail what comes next for Windows users.
The very first beta of Windows 9 is also scheduled to be introduced later this month or in early October, while the stable build of the operating system should see daylight in April 2015, after eventually reaching RTM in February next year.