This weekend various information has emerged about Windows 12 and the supposed beginning of the development of what would be the next great version of Windows. Internet rumors since no specific sources are cited, although it is indicated that the information comes from “internal Microsoft sources”.
According to the German media Deskmodder, the start of the development of Windows 12 is scheduled for a date as close as next March, once Microsoft releases the first major update to the general public of Windows 11. The company would have hired staff to add additional support to the official team. We have seen this in the latest job offers from Microsoft, although they refer to the development of operating systems and not specifically to Windows 12.
Development, if true, is considered to be “long-term”. Windows 10 will be officially supported until at least October 2025, and Windows 11 even further, closer to the next decade. In addition, it has committed to releasing annual major updates for each of them and also cumulative quality updates and new features, in addition to monthly security updates. There is no rush.
Do I need Windows 12?
When Microsoft launched Windows 10, it assured that it would be “its last operating system” in reference to the fact that others would not be necessary, since the continuous updating as a ‘rolling release’ would allow it to always be kept up to date. The company has not been able to sustain this development model and finally retracted its own assertions and published a new system, Windows 11, an evolution (not a revolution) that some users define as “Windows 10.5”.
And it is that it supports a good part of the legacy of the gigantic Windows ecosystem and is based on elements already known from Windows 10X, a version that had originally focused on the new generation of folding devices and that has definitely been used to launch a new version that overcomes the “I want and I can’t” of Windows 10 and as a catalyst for the industry at a time of significant increase in sales of PCs and components to update equipment.
The revolution will have to wait and that is where Windows 12 would come in. According to the information cited (rumors) it will be developed under these four main keys:
- Microsoft plans to eliminate the old base of Windows. It is used by all versions from Windows XP and Microsoft wants to leave it behind, as well as legacy components that have been dragging on for decades and do not allow to open a new path. This would indeed be a revolution, but the problem would be maintaining compatibility for use by hundreds of millions of active machines.
- Windows 12 will require a Microsoft account for home and business users. Nothing new. We already saw it for Windows 11 Home and more recently as mandatory in the installation of the previous version of Windows 11 Pro.
- Some code from Windows 10X will be used. It would be a return to the commitment of the Windows Core OS project, a modular development with a basic core that can be expanded or reduced through modules to meet the needs of different devices. Microsoft has not opted for it for Windows 11 or has not given time to develop it.
- Microsoft Pluton will be mandatory. A twist to the Windows 11 TPM with a security chip that would be integrated into the same CPUs.
At the moment this Windows 12 is still pure speculation, although it is certain that it will end up arriving. What do you think? Would it be the promised revolution that hasn’t arrived with Windows 11? How would you approach its development?