Windows 9 Could Be Set For April 2015 Launch

Microsoft is reportedly readying the next version of its Windows operating system, with developers receiving a sneak peek of what will eventually become Windows 9 at the Build 2014 conference which starts on 2 April in San Francisco.

Code-named Windows ‘Threshold’, the platform marks the end for the much-maligned Windows 8, and is expected to form part of Microsoft’s plans for a unified ecosystem, spanning its flagship OS, Windows Phone and Xbox One, according to Paul Thurrott of Windows SuperSite.

Unified OS

The first rumblings of Windows Threshold were leaked in early December, following an internal email from Microsoft executive vice president Terry Myerson.

Similar to Windows Blue (Windows 8.1), Threshold will encompass a “wave of operating systems across Windows-based phones, devices and gaming consoles”, said Foley. Threshold draws its name from the fictional universe featuring the company’s Halo video game series.

Build 2014 “will hit just weeks after Microsoft completes its corporate reorganisation”, said Thurrott. Microsoft embarked on the massive “One Microsoft” reorganisation effort in July.

As further proof that Threshold will help unify the Windows ecosystem, Thurrott revealed that his sources told him that the show “will surprisingly be very much focused on Windows Phone and Xbox”. Moreover, the first official glimpse at Threshold will offer guidance on how the company plans to recover from lacklustre Windows 8 adoption.

Windows 8 ‘disaster’

“Windows 8 is tanking harder than Microsoft is comfortable discussing in public,” wrote Thurrott, citing figures showing that the free Windows 8.1 update “is in use on less than 25 million PCs at the moment”. Calling the situation “a disaster”, he said Threshold must appeal to the massive traditional PC user base “while enticing users to adopt this new Windows on new types of personal computing devices”.

“In short, it needs to be everything that Windows 8 is not,” he added.

Microsoft is hoping that history repeats. Similar to how Windows 7 rose from the ashes of coolly received Windows Vista, Threshold is expected to help the company atone for Windows 8. “To distance itself from the Windows 8 debacle, Microsoft is currently planning to drop the Windows 8 name and brand this next release as Windows 9,” said Thurrott while allowing for the possibility that plans could change.

Build 2014 attendees will have to wait a while to get their hands on Threshold. “Microsoft will not be providing developers with an early alpha release of ‘Threshold’,” wrote Thurrott. The general public may only have to wait a little over a year, however. If all goes according to plan, Microsoft expects Windows 9 to launch in April 2015.

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Originally published on eWeek.