Windows 8.2: release date, features and free cloud version

Microsoft is already planning the next major round of updates to Windows 8 - the follow up to Windows 8.1, codenamed "Threshold".
Here, we'll track the latest leaks and rumours about the Threshold update, letting you know what to expect from Windows 8.2 or Windows 9 - whichever it's indeed called.

Cloud Windows

An autumn update to Windows - possibly called Windows 8.1 Update 2 or Windows 8.2 - will introduce the new Start menu and update the Modern interface, according to leaked screenshots reported by Winbeta.org.
More dramatically, it's also rumoured that Microsoft is working on a free version of Windows based in the cloud.
The leaker behind the Winbeta.org story, who posts under the name Wzor, has previously suggested that Microsoft has been working on a free or cheap version of its OS. Now, that leaker reports that Microsoft is working on a platform similar to Chrome OS for budget devices. The OS would require an internet connection for full functionality, but would have a workable offline mode.

Name and release dates

Windows watcher Mary Jo Foley has previously revealed that the next major update to Windows 8 is nicknamed "Threshold", following reports that the codename was mentioned in an internal email from Microsoft's head of OS Terry Myerson.
Many have already started referring to Threshold as Windows 8.2, although Windows expert Paul Thurrott has reported that Microsoft is apparently reluctant to continue with the Windows 8 branding after its poor reception, and is considering calling the next update Windows 9.
Foley's earlier report however indicated that Threshold wasn't due until spring 2015; the more recent leaks published by Winbeta.org suggest that Windows 8.2, or Windows 8.1 Update 2, will be the update arriving this autumn, with Windows 9 following next year.
Whatever the next update ends up being called, it's clear that Microsoft is continuing to keep updates coming quickly, as promised before the release of Windows 8.

Return of the Start menu

Threshold will reintroduce the Start menu, according to Thurrott. The Start menu was controversially absent from the original release of Windows 8, and though the Start button returned in Windows 8.1, left-clicking it only returns users to the Metro/Modern UI start screen. Right-clicking the icon does bring up some of the Start menu's shortcuts, but still doesn't offer any way to launch applications within the desktop.
The next major update will see the Start menu resurrected - but only in desktop versions of the OS.

Different versions

There will be three major versions of Windows following the Threshold update, according to Foley.
The first is a desktop version, designed to be used with a keyboard and mouse. It will feature the Start menu and may also allow Modern apps to run inside windows like more traditional applications.
The second is a Modern-style edition, focused on apps for tablets, while the third will merge Windows Phone and Windows RT to work across ARM handsets and tablets.
In addition to the consumer versions, there will also be an enterprise edition, but this may only be available via volume licensing.

 

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