Microsoft is shaking up Windows release schedule: Windows 12 in 2024?

Microsoft announced last year that it would offer one feature update for Windows 10 and 11 every year, but it looks like the company could return to a more traditional release schedule for major updates.

Windows Central reports that Microsoft is moving to a three-year release cycle for “major” versions of Windows, citing its own resources. The outlet adds that the next major release is slated for 2024, reportedly codenamed Next Valley.

It goes without saying that this new version of Windows could be called Windows 12. In saying that, there was a six-year gap between the release of Windows 10 in 2015 and the Windows 11 release in 2021. So it’s entirely possible that the 2024 release won’t move up to Windows 12. However, Microsoft’s approach with Windows 10 was to offer a regular release schedule that wasn’t heavily tied to a specific version number.

A return to Microsoft of yesteryear?

Nevertheless, the move to a three-year schedule would be in line with previous Windows releases. For example, there was a three-year gap between Windows 8 in 2012 and Windows 10, while the gap between Windows 7 in 2009 and Windows 8 was also about three years.

Windows Central adds that Microsoft also plans to bring a collection of new features (called Moments) to the current version of Windows up to four times a year. It looks like Google’s function drop concept for the Pixel series of smartphones, which brings a few new features every quarter.

Anyway, it sounds like we can expect a big update in 2024. I hope this version of Windows has a wider release than Windows 11, which saw a confusing, staggered release.