In October 2021, Microsoft announced the availability of Windows 11, its new operating system, which I had to unseat naturally to Windows 10. But certain decisions, such as its excessive hardware requirements, have meant that the umpteenth version of Windows is not the expected success. The statistics say that Windows 10 is still the preferred version with more than 70% of users compared to almost 21% of Windows 11. So Microsoft does not have it easy with Windows 12. You will have to resolve past mistakes and gain a foothold on millions of computers.
What happened with Windows 11 confirms the Microsoft curse with Windows. A kind of unwritten rule that says that successful versions of Windows follow one another with disastrous versions. Windows XP was succeeded by Windows Vista. After Windows 7 came Windows 8 which had to be quickly upgraded to Windows 8.1. And after Windows 10, which is still installed on most computers, came Windows 11. Following this logic, Windows 12 should succeed that its predecessor did not have.
And that in Microsoft they have tried everything. They first lowered the demanding hardware requirements by helping install windows 11 on any pc. Then they “gave away” the update if you had Windows 10 installed showing constant messages for you to update. And what about the constant updates that add or remove key applications and components of the operating system.
Code name and release date
In addition to the obvious, that after Windows 11 Windows 12 will come, we know your code name is Next Valley. At Microsoft they have always given code names or code names to their operating systems. And in recent years, until heavyweight updates have name. Hence, Windows 11 is known internally as sun valley and its updates, Cobalt, Nickel, Copper either Zinc, referring to minerals. And as a curiosity and not to lengthen, Windows 10 was called Redstone.
What else do we know about Windows 12. Its release date. Although it is not 100% certain, it is estimated that we will see Windows 12 in the second half of 2024. The reason is that Microsoft announced in the summer of 2022 that it would release new versions of Windows every three years. So if Windows 11 was released in 2021, if we add three years to that, we get to 2024.
What changes will we see in Windows 12
And now let’s get down to the important stuff. What will Windows 12 be like? At Microsoft’s latest event for developers and IT professionals, microsoft ignite (formerly known as TechEd), a prototype of what, in principle, was going to be Windows 12 was shown. And although surely undergoes several changes in the development process, for now we can keep a few details.
First, a floating taskbar. Precisely, the taskbar and the position of the icons have undergone many changes in Windows 11. On the other hand, useful information such as Weather forecast, as is currently the case. And the system icons They would stay on the corners.
Upgrades, virtualization and partitions
From here, what we know about Windows 12 are rumors that may end up being confirmed or remain mere wishes or speculation. For example, it is logical that Windows 12 continues to offer virtualization for Linux and Android better integrating both operating systems and their respective applications. It is also talked about improve updates to make them faster, lighter and less annoying. A pending task that has dragged on for too many years.
More rumors and wishes: seeing what happened with Bing and ChatGPT, we cannot rule out that artificial intelligence makes an appearance and is integrated into Windows 12 in some way, either in the search engine, in the start menu or in some of the default applications. The question is what will become of Cortana. With its integration in Xbox and its mobile app gone and relegated to the background in Windows 11, we do not know if it will continue in Windows 12 due to the rise of ChatGPT.
Another rumor that is gaining strength is the intention of modernize Windows by using modules and simplifying certain components of the giant that this operating system has become. Come on, it’s time to clean code. specialized media such as windows central point to CorePC as the code name of this modulation in which Windows starts from some basic components to which the rest of the elements are incorporated. And this would be done by separate partitions. Some visible and others hidden from the user. The idea would have arisen with Windows 10X, a project that it ended up canceling and whose achievements were integrated into Windows 11 with more or less success.
Requirements to install Windows 12
At the risk of being annoying, I reiterate that we know little about Windows 12 for now. So there is no official list of minimum requirements to be able to install Windows 12. Some say that Microsoft will continue to require the TPM 2.0 support. But precisely this detail has been the cause of many not updating to Windows 11 from Windows 10. So we cannot rule out that the requirements may relax a bit.
And more if we take into account that Microsoft cannot rely on PC users to upgrade their equipment to TPM 2.0 for when Windows 12 sees the light. precisely the last computer sales data indicate that this market is somewhat stagnant. After the increase in sales during the pandemic, it seems that the trend is going down. We will see what happens by 2024.
As context, we can remember the requirements to install windows 11:
- 1GHz 64-bit processor or SoC (ARM) with 2 or more cores
- 4 GB RAM (8GB if you want to use Android virtualization)
- Storage of 64 GB or more
- UEFI support with Secure Boot
- TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) support
- DirectX 12 compatible graphics card with WDDM 2.0 driver
- High-definition (720p) display larger than 9 inches with 8-bit color channel
- Internet connection
What will the Windows 12 update be like?
Continuing with the rumor mill, there are those who bet on a Windows 12 with free and non-mandatory updateas has happened with Windows 11. The free thing is not entirely true, since in principle you should have a previous version of Windows, we do not know if only Windows 11 or Windows 10 will also be valid. But the important thing is that, in principle, you shouldn’t have to pay for that upgrade if we take into account the current trend that Microsoft follows.
Refering to mandatorywe return to what happened with Windows 10 and Windows 11. You may have seen a message several times inviting you to update, but if you ignore it, you can continue with windows 10 quietly. In principle, Microsoft will provide technical support and release updates until October 14, 2025. In the case of Windows 11, it does not have an “expiration date” yet.
This article may know little to you. But what is clear is that until 2024 more rumors, predictions will be happening and some other information about Windows 12. Especially since Microsoft has already announced to Windows developers and testers the release of your own test update channel.
The answers are in the updates
From this month of April 2023, Microsoft incorporates a canary channel in which they will be published windows updates closer to Windows 12 than to Windows 11. Until now, those who were part of the program Windows Insiders could install windows updates prior to its official launch. There was, and still is, a preliminary version or Release Preview, a Beta version and a development version. Three phases in which the update goes through changes, checks and fixes until its final version available to the public.
Since April, a new channel has been opened prior to the Dev Channelhe canary channel. As a curiosity, the name canary is due to the function that these birds performed in the mines. They were a biological toxic gas detector. When the canary died it was a clear sign that the miners had to leave that area. In software development, the canary channel it is the most precarious channel. That’s where you first see working code, and as a rule, it’s accompanied by bugs and bugs. But being the first to see something new has its price.
Officially, “the compilations that we publish on Canal Canario should not be considered tied to any specific version of Windowsand some of the changes we tried in the Canal Canario will never be marketedwhile others might appear in future versions of Windows when they are ready”. Many cling to this last sentence to be attentive to the canary channel of Windows, since it is practically certain that there will be seen for the first time the What’s new in Windows 12. The problem will be in differentiating what’s new in Windows 12 from simple proofs of concept or updates to Windows 11.