Microsoft Teases Windows 9 by Mistake; Tips Launch Is Coming Soon

The Redmond giant's next Windows version, expected to be called Windows 9 and is officially codenamed Threshold, has been teased by the company on Weibo, the China-equivalent of Twitter.

Microsoft China in a Weibo post teased the upcoming Windows version as "coming soon". The post said (in Chinese), "Microsoft's latest OS Windows 9 is coming soon, do you think the start menu at the left bottom will make a comeback?" Interestingly, the post was accompanied by a Windows 9 mock-up logo.

The post was soon pulled down by the Redmond giant; however, CNBeta spotted the post and it was also later picked up by the Verge. While the Weibo post does not reveal any new feature of the next Windows version or even its official logo, it surely fuels speculations that Microsoft will soon give the world its first glimpse of Windows 9.

An earlier report had suggested that Microsoft is planning to hold an event on September 30 to provide developers a look at Windows 9. The report tipped that the introduction would be aimed at developers behind programs designed for computers powered by Windows software, while Microsoft is expected to release a developer preview as early as October before releasing a public preview by the end of the year.

Reports have been tipping that Microsoft will likely modify Windows 9 to offer different features on different form factors. Notably, the ARM-based Windows RT Threshold tablets (as well as smartphones, with the unifying Threshold update) are said to feature, barring a few exceptional devices, the Modern UI only, with no way to switch to the desktop mode or use regular Win32 applications.

Rumours have been claiming that only laptops, desktops and AIOs would feature the desktop mode, with the new Start Menu the single place where desktop users will be able to interact with the Modern UI and its apps - the Start Menu that's expected to be re-introduced is also said to be expandable to full screen to become like the Start Screen. On the other hand, Modern UI 2.0 included is said to feature a Windows Phone 8.1-like Notification Centre.

Also expected to be included in Windows 9 is support for virtual desktops, as well as the removal of the Charms Bar for certain form factors. Previous reports had further tipped that apart from the re-introduction of the Start Menu, the next iteration of Windows will allow users to use Modern UI apps in Windowed mode.