14 DAY TRIAL // Windows Threshold is clearly the hottest topic among Microsoft fanatics these days, especially because of all these rumors suggesting that Redmond could use it to bring back the classic Start Menu.
While previous reports indicated that Windows Threshold could be released in early 2015, another source now claims that the debut could take place a lot sooner.
Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott is reporting that Windows Threshold could appear after Windows Phone 8.1, which is expected to see daylight early next year, and before the Windows RT – Windows Phone merger that's likely to take place in early 2015.
This means that Threshold could see daylight as soon as 2014, probably in October or November 2014, as Microsoft would thus maintain a yearly release cycle for major Windows updates.
The big question in this case concerns the major update that's due in early 2014. Codenamed Spring GDR update, the upcoming rollout is likely to bring lots of major improvements for Windows 8.1, while also setting the foundation for the platform merger we were talking about.
At the same time, this update is supposed to address many of the bugs found by Microsoft in Windows 8.1, while also introducing performance optimizations and other improvements.
Another thing that's not yet clear is the name of this update. While many would expect Microsoft to call it simply Windows 8.2, it could end up hitting the market without any name, as the parent company could actually consider it just a regular update delivered via Windows Update.
As usual, Microsoft doesn't comment on all these reports, so what we have here is pure speculation and nothing more. Of course, we should all take these with a grain of salt, at least until early 2014 when Microsoft is expected to provide more details about the upcoming update for Windows 8.1.