Report: Windows 9 ‘Threshold’ Expected in 2015

Microsoft will provide a sneak peek at its vision for the next generation of Windows at its April BUILD conference, according to a new report.

As reported by Paul Thurrott(Opens in a new window), another update to Windows 8.1 will roll out this year. But next year, we’ll see Windows 9, codenamed “Threshold.”

But don’t expect anything you can actually play around with anytime soon; according to Thurrott, Windows 9 is still in the planning stages. At BUILD, we’ll only get a glimpse of Microsoft’s vision. Still, he expects the new OS to include a revamp of the Metro/Modern interface.

News of Threshold emerged last month when Thurrott(Opens in a new window) and veteran Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley(Opens in a new window) said that Threshold is being developed as part of Redmond’s “One Windows” strategy.

Thurrott said at the time that Threshold will have an option to run the old Start menu—much as the Windows 8.1 update reintroduced the Start button —but will also allow for “Metro” apps to run in “floating windows on the desktop.”

The development of Windows 9 will go forward without Steven Sinofsky, the former Windows chief who left Redmond in Nov. 2012, shortly after the release of Windows 8. CEO Steve Ballmer is also on his way out, but a successor has not yet been selected.

For more, check out PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Windows 9.