The major update coming to Microsoft’s wildly-popular desktop operating system later this year will not be Windows 12, the US company has confirmed. Microsoft is currently testing features and improvements set to roll out to Windows PC owners worldwide in the second half of 2024.
Some sources had speculated the software update would launch as Windows 12 due to the sheer number of improvements under the bonnet. The rebrand could drive interest in software, sources speculated, since Microsoft has struggled to convince millions of laptop and desktop PC owners to move from Windows 10 to its successor ― despite some pretty forceful messaging.
Windows 11 already boasts a number of ChatGPT-powered features, including a first-generation version of the Windows Copilot that uses generative AI to put together comprehensive answers to questions, summarise emails, and create How To tutorials for your PC
MICROSOFTHowever, beta testers have now confirmed that Microsoft has named the update “Windows 11 Version 24H2”. The moniker was spotted in the notes submitted alongside the latest preview build.
It reads: “Starting with Build 26-xx today, Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels will see the versioning updated under Settings > System > About to version 24H2. This denotes that Windows 11, version 24H2 will be this year’s annual feature update.As mentioned here, Windows 11 will have an annual feature update cadence that releases in the second half of the calendar year.”
The next version of Windows 11 focuses heavily on Artificial Intelligence (AI) experiences. Building on the features available with CoPilot right now (keep in mind ― you might need to set up a Direct Debit to Microsoft to unlock some of these tricks) the upcoming 24H2 update will purportedly monitor your actions and habits behind-the-scenes to proactively jumpstart some actions for you.
AI will enable to use more natural language when searching the operating system. So, instead of searching for the exact title of a Word document, you could search for a document that “was created last week and has a chart about Q4 revenue” or “PDF Matt sent on WhatsApp on Monday”.
Those familiar with the functionality describe the AI capabilities as “groundbreaking”.
Microsoft is also looking to supercharge Live Caption, so that its AI can translate several different languages in real-time during a video call, video, or phone call. Samsung recently added real-time translation for text messages and voice calls with its Galaxy S24 smartphone range.
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As beta testers get their hands on the features planned for Windows 11 24H2, we’ll learn whether these rumoured features have made the cut. Microsoft has typically launched its Windows 11 updates in October, so we’d expect that release pattern to continue this year.
