Microsoft Windows 9 aka Threshold update to be released in April 2015: Report

Microsoft's next version of OS, Windows 9, is expected to arrive by April 2015, and is said to be a part of the Windows "Threshold" wave of updates, according to a report.

Microsoft will allegedly reveal its Windows 9 OS version at the company's Build 2014 developer conference, scheduled for April this year, and release it a year later. The exact changes in the proposed OS version are not clear as of yet, but the "Metro 2.0" feature in the OS version is said to focus on enhancing Microsoft's new apps and tiles.

"Maturing and fixing the "Metro" design language used by Windows will be a major focus area of Threshold," stated Paul Thurrot, a popular Microsoft blogger. "It's not clear what changes are coming, but it's safe to assume that a windowed mode that works on the desktop is part of that," he added.

The Start menu may also make a return on Windows 9. It might also arrive early as a second update to Windows 8.1 OS (a.k.a Windows Blue).

Microsoft is said to be in the final planning stages for its Windows 9 and further plans to introduce three key development points in the conference for its next year's OS version. Since the firm is in final planning stages, the work on the OS is expected to commence right after the Build conference.

Thurrot further adds that the firm is set to move away from its Windows 8 criticism and as a result, is planning to give it the name of Windows 9 instead of Windows 8.2 or any other name related to Windows 8. "To distance itself from the Windows 8 debacle, Microsoft is currently planning to drop the Windows 8 name and brand this next release as Windows 9. That could change, but that's the current thinking."