Microsoft plans to launch a public preview of the next version of Windows on June 26th. It’ll be called Windows 8.1, and eventually it will roll out as a free update for all Windows 8 and Windows RT users.

Windows 8 logo

Up until now the next-gen operating system has been code-named “Windows Blue,” and most of what we know about the update comes from leaked pre-released builds.

But recently Microsoft has started sharing a few details, including the fact that the company has heard a lot of feedback from users, and plans to make changes that address that feedback in Windows 8.1. One possibility, for example, could be the return of the Start button to the taskbar — something that many Windows 8 users have found confusing when using the operating system to navigate computers that don’t have touchscreen displays.

Microsoft is promising to release more details “in the coming weeks.”

When Windows 8.1 is released, users will be able to download the update will be available from the Windows Store. The public preview launch in June is timed to coincide with the 2013 Microsoft Build developer conference.

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3 replies on “Free Windows 8.1 update coming to Windows 8, Windows RT”

    1. As long as it isn’t really just a “Stop Button” i.e. one that sends you from the Windows UI (desktop) back into the Metro overlay. So far there seems to be more hemming and hawing than information and most of it looks bad. If this were good news I’d expect Microsoft to be a lot more explicit about things. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

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