Following Panos Panay’s departure from Microsoft, speculation arose regarding the company’s adherence to the three-year update cycle for Windows. This speculation has now been confirmed as Microsoft announced in its official Windows Insider Blog that “Windows 11 24H2 will be this year’s annual feature update.” Consequently, the anticipated arrival of Windows 12 in 2024 has been dismissed, and users may have to wait until 2025 for the next significant Windows update.
The major update of 2024 will be Windows 11 24H2.
The changelog was initially discovered by WindowsCentral on the Windows Insider Blog, where Microsoft unveiled the release of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052 for the Canary and Dev channels. According to the changelog, the update includes the following enhancements and fixes.
Commencing with Build 26-xx released today, Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels will observe a versioning update in Settings > System > About (and winver) to reflect version 24H2. This indicates that Windows 11, designated as version 24H2, will function as the yearly feature update for this year. As highlighted, Windows 11 will adopt an annual feature update cadence, with releases scheduled for the second half of the calendar year.
It’s evident that Microsoft has scrapped plans for Windows 12 this fall, emphasizing instead a commitment to an annual feature update schedule for Windows 11, typically released in the latter half of each year. This strategy marks a departure from the smaller, incremental updates seen during Panay’s tenure.
The new leadership in Microsoft’s Windows division likely aims to avoid further fragmentation of the Windows ecosystem. With Windows 10 still holding a substantial 66% market share compared to Windows 11’s 28%, introducing Windows 12 in 2024 would exacerbate this fragmentation.
Instead of Windows 12, users can expect to see new AI features and advancements with the Windows 11 24H2 update. The anticipated AI-powered Windows 12 desktop shell with a floating taskbar won’t be part of the upcoming Windows 11 update. Users will have to wait until at least 2025 for a significant visual refresh of Windows.
Additionally, the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 build is slated for release to manufacturers (RTM) in April, with general availability expected in September or October of 2024.
Indeed, while Windows 12 remains in the pipeline, it won’t be hitting the shelves this year. What are your thoughts on this development? Are you disappointed by Microsoft’s choice to delay Windows 12?
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