Already in July 2022 there were rumors of Microsoft’s move to three-year releases for new versions of Windows. New clues suggest the release of Windows 12, which is currently scheduled for the second half of 2024. This is not yet a clear indication of when Windows 12 comes out but David Zinsner, Intel’s chief financial officer, made the following statement in public: “we think 2024 will be a pretty good year for users, especially thanks to the Windows update. And we still think the installed base is quite old and requires an upgrade“. Zinsner goes on to note that Windows could represent “a new beginning” and catalyze user interest.
The manager of Intel he does not specifically mention Windows 12 but, examining his words, it is unlikely that he is referring to the launch – by Microsoft – of a feature update like Windows 11 24H2. Zinsner says that many (too many) users continue to use old versions of Windows and that the launch of a major update during 2024 could act as a driving force to migrate all those systems that are starting to feel the weight of the years. The term update used by Zinsner, therefore, should be understood as the launch of a product on the market major release of Windows, Windows 12 in fact.
Microsoft and Intel still don’t reveal when Windows 12 comes out but the update is in the air
It has been known for some time that Microsoft engineers and technicians are working on the Windows 12 interface, even if someone had raised doubts about whether the new features could be changes designed for a future feature update di Windows 11. This is not completely excluded today, but the leaker which previously published the full specifications of the Intel Xeon W3400/2400 processors ahead of the official launch, claims that Intel would already be informed of the launch date of Windows 12.
In an internal document of the Santa Clara company, with the list of future candidates processor models Intel, explicit references to Windows 12 had even appeared. On the other hand, it is also true that a Microsoft employee had in recent weeks denied theexistence of Windows 12 and then deleted his “post”.
Even if we move in the field of indiscretions, however, many clues seem to point to Windows 12 release in the second half of 2024. The timing would also be perfectly compatible with the three-year system for the launch of new major release: Windows 11 debuts in final version at the beginning of October 2021; it is very likely that its direct successor could arrive on the market in October 2024.
Artificial intelligence increasingly protagonist in Windows 12
Microsoft is already experimenting with the integration ofartificial intelligence in Windows 11: we have seen how to use Copilot in Windows 11 to get the answer to any question and how in the future we can use the same feature to intervene on the settings and configuration of the operating system.
Another major milestone is Microsoft Copilot, a digital assistant integrated which horizontally permeates all the products of the Microsoft ecosystem and which is mainly aimed at professionals and companies because it is capable of significantly improving productivity and workflows at every level.
The implementation of AI-based features sees this as one founding feature of Windows 12: Microsoft needs to strengthen its relationships with Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Seeing the next operating system mentioned in Microsoft and Intel’s internal documentation is therefore not at all surprising. In fact, from a future perspective, Microsoft artificial intelligence solutions will be increasingly linked to hardware. For this reason, the various chip manufacturers are providing features aimed precisely at optimizing processing: think of the development of NPU, Neural Processing Unit.
