In a month of May already loaded with technological announcements of all kinds, Microsoft wanted to add its two cents with the announcement of new PCs powered by AI. Despite the significant changes made to the operating system, the company refuses to move to Windows 12.
More AI, better support for ARM architecture, new generation Surfaces… In just a few hours, Microsoft detailed, during its keynote on May 20, 2024, its entire plan of attack for the year 2024, both in terms of hardware and software. But it was especially Windows 12 which was conspicuous by its absence.
No Windows 12 this year
While rumors around Microsoft’s next operating system have been going strong for several months, the company has never mentioned the successor to Windows 11. Despite profound changes in the way of thinking about Windows (notably with the Recall tool) and critical technical developments at the kernel and compiler level, the next version of Windows will still be called Windows 11.
However, several sources mentioned the release of a potential “Windows 12” at the end of 2024. But the departure of an important Microsoft executive during the month of January would have disrupted the company’s plans and forced Microsoft to release a Windows 11 24H2 rather than Windows 12. Speculation was all the more rife as Windows 11 has been out for almost three years, a period of time similar to that which separated Windows Vista and Windows 7 or Windows 8 and Windows 10 .
Microsoft does not want to bury Windows 11 (yet)
But Microsoft probably does not yet want to acknowledge the failure of Windows 11. Released in 2021, the system was to take over from a Windows 10 that was more necessarily at the cutting edge of technology. But for three years, the OS has struggled to establish itself, to the point that the system has recently lost market share to… Windows 10, which will soon fall into software obsolescence.
The fault is partly due to drastic technical constraints dictated by Microsoft which prevent many recent machines from switching to the new system. Constraints that have been reinforced more recently. As a result, Windows 11 has a poor image among the general public, shunned due to its incompatibility or instability.
Despite everything, Windows 11 will continue on its merry way during the year 2024 with, perhaps, a Windows 12 which will show up in 2025. Enough to give Microsoft time to properly “blur the lines between cloud and local processing.
Source : Ars Technica
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