The next big update to Windows 8.1 may be just a few weeks away—but don't get too excited.
According to WinBeta, evidence posted by Russian site PC Portal suggests Windows 8.1 Update 2 is on track for an August 12 release. However, WinBeta adds that the update will mostly comprise small tweaks and bug fixes. The feature we've all been waiting for, the resurrected Start menu, has apparently been postponed:
Update 2 was originally going to include the new Start Menu, but Microsoft decided to pull the feature and save it for Threshold. Update 2 will include no new features, and will most likely be preparing for Threshold when it launches in 2015.
Oh well. At least the rumored August 12 date seems fairly plausible. It corresponds to Patch Tuesday, and it jibes with a ZDnet report from back in April. In that report, Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley said her sources pointed to a possible August time frame for Windows 8.1 Update 2.
Microsoft demoed the new Start menu at its Build conference earlier this year, promising to unleash it as part of a future update. Unofficial evidence suggests that Windows Threshold, the next major Windows release, will go as far as to disable Modern UI entirely on desktop PCs. On the flip side, the desktop will reportedly be off-limits to small tablets.
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