14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8.1 Update 2 was initially believed to be quite a big pack of improvements for Windows 8.1 computers, but even though we’re less than a month away from its public launch, Microsoft is keeping everything secret about this project.
Back in April at the BUILD 2014 developer conference, Microsoft officially announced that the Start menu, together with options to launch Metro apps in their own windows right on the desktop, would be introduced in a future Windows update, which made everyone believe that Windows 8.1 Update 2 would actually get these features.
Microsoft has never provided any date specifics on Windows 8.1 Update 2’s launch, but people close to the matter said that mid-August or September are very likely to witness the introduction of the new OS version which is expected to be shipped to users via Windows Update.
Recently, it has emerged that Windows 8.1 Update 2 would actually be launched on August 12, the same day when Microsoft is rolling out its monthly Patch Tuesday improvements for products including Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer.
But launching Windows 8.1 Update 2 on Patch Tuesday with all the other fixes makes sense only if one scenario is actually true: the update might not bring anything exciting, so Microsoft isn’t planning to hold a special launch event as it did for the first update.
As a result, Windows 8.1 Update 2 would be released via Windows Update, together with all the other fixes and if everything goes well, all of these would be installed on existing Windows 8.1 Update machines without any errors.
Windows 8.1 Update 2 would thus include only bug fixes, performance improvements and small refinements made to the overall Windows experience, but no new major features and options are expected to be implemented.
Worse, no Start menu is likely to be part of this OS update, with Microsoft most likely preferring to wait until Windows 9 to bring this feature back in its flagship operating system.
As a result, you can consider Windows 8.1 Update 2 to be more of a service pack that includes all the previous fixes and improvements and doesn’t bring anything new in terms of features and options.
And still, it will be mandatory for everyone to install Windows 8.1 Update 2, especially amid rumors that Windows 9 might be offered free of charge to those running the latest version of the company’s modern operating system.