Windows 9 release date, beta, preview, start menu & screenshots

Windows 9 Threshold: All you need to know about the next Windows

When is the Windows 9 release date and how will Windows 9 differ from Windows 8? Read on as we explore potential Windows 9 release dates, leaked Windows 9 screenshots and how the Windows 9 Start Menu looks set to change, hopefully for the better. (Last Update: 21 Aug)

Windows 9 is the most important software release in Microsoft's history. Among the many things Microsoft needs to sort out is the Windows 9 Start Menu, but there's more to it than that. There are also debates about how Microsoft will sell Windows 9, with some kind of subscription model a possibility.

The latest Windows 9 news concerns the Windows 9 preview release date. A leaked internal document from 22 May seemed to confirm Microsoft as aiming for Windows 9 preview release in Q2 to Q3 of 2015. But the weak performance of Windows 8 and the entrance of new CEO, Satya Nadella, may have changed Microsoft Windows 9 beta plans.

Recently, ZDNet claimed insider sources confirmed to them that a Windows 9 beta could be just a month or so away, with an autumn/fall 2014 release the new target. This would sit nicely with the idea that the full release could come around April or June 2015.

Finally, Microsoft's ambition for Windows 9 is apparently that it needs a "deeply personal, universally human way of operating". For one thing, this will likely mean integrating Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant.

Read on for more details on what we know about Windows 9.

Windows 9 Release Date: When is Windows 9 coming out?

There are a few schools of thought on the Windows 9 release date. One suggests it's planned for April 2015, which would make it just under two years since Windows 8 was released. This is a reasonably safe bet for a few reasons, including Microsoft's desire to shorten the gaps between releases, and the fact the original report came from respected Microsoft reporter Paul Thurrot.

Reasons against this theory include that there was no serious mention of Windows 9 at the recent BUILD 2014 conference, Microsoft's annual developers conference. Microsoft did show a sneak peek of a new Start Menu, but this is expected to come in an update to Windows 8 (either as 8.1 Update 2 or Windows 8.2) later this year.