14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 is set to receive a second update sometime this year, but according to some new rumors, Microsoft is already preparing a third pack of improvements that could arrive in early 2015.
Reports coming out via Twitter user Faikee and spotted by Microsoft News claim that Microsoft has already started work on what could be called Windows 8.1 Update 3, a fresh set of improvements that could succeed Windows 8.1 Update 2 and bring even more changes to the modern platform.
Not much has been said, but according to the leaked data, Windows 8.1 Update 3 could launch in spring 2015, most likely a couple of months before the debut of Windows 9. Unconfirmed rumors suggested that Windows 9 might be here in April with lots of improvements, including a Start menu and a desktop version of Cortana.
Windows 8.1 has already received a bunch of improvements with the help of Update 1, but Microsoft is set to deliver a second pack that would bring even more goodies, including performance enhancements and possibly new features.
Microsoft said at the BUILD 2014 developer conference in San Francisco that a second Windows 8.1 Update would also bring a Start menu, but people familiar with the matter recently revealed that the launch of the popular Windows feature might be delayed until Windows 9.
Terry Myerson, chief of the OS division at Microsoft, confirmed in San Francisco that the Start menu would be coming back at some point in the future, but due to the latest rumors, nobody knows exactly when this is actually going to happen.
“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 said after BUILD 2014.
“We set out to do this is a thoughtful way – one where we could enable more productivity for customers working in desktop mode, while building smart bridges to the new modern user experience and ensuring customers can get access to all your great apps in the Windows Store no matter where they are in the experience, or which device type they’re on.”
Windows 8.1 Update 3 would actually be the right moment for the Start menu comeback, as Microsoft clearly wants to bring it to the market before the launch of the next full Windows version.
As usual, the company hasn't commented on these new rumors, so take everything with a pinch of salt until we hear something official from Microsoft.