Microsoft today confirmed what had been
widely rumored for the past week: Windows 8.1 will be
released to the general public in October.
Specifically, "starting at 12:00am on October 18th in New Zealand
(that’s 4:00am October 17th in Redmond), Windows 8.1 will begin rolling
out worldwide as a free update for consumers on Windows 8 through the
Windows Store."
Today's announcement indirectly confirms what my sources have also told me, which is that Windows 8.1
has been officially is in escrow, awaiting the final, formal designation that it's been released to manufacturing.
Update: A Microsoft spokesperson says Windows 8.1 has not yet
been released to manufacturing. “Development of Windows 8.1 continues to
be on track, and we expect to reach the RTM milestone and release
Windows to our OEM partners in late August.”
In Microsoft’s partner-driven world, that’s an important milestone.
It means the code is on its way to OEMs, who in turn can incorporate it
into new hardware designs for shipment this fall. After a year of
generally miserable Windows 8 sales, those OEMs could use some good news
to drive holiday sales.
The most visible change in Windows 8.1 is the addition of a "boot to
desktop" option, as well as significant changes to the Start screen and
support for smaller form factors. (For A full list of changes, see
"Windows 8.1 unveiled: will it change your mind about Windows 8?")
Customers, though, are going to have to wait.
Why the lengthy delay (more than two months) between this milestone
and General Availability? I’ve heard some conspiracy theories suggesting
that this isn’t the
real release and that Microsoft is still furiously swatting bugs between now and an October public release.
The actual reasons, I suspect, are more mundane:
First, hardware makers need time to tweak drivers and utilities for
existing devices so that the upgrade process goes more smoothly. That’s
crucial for devices that require firmware upgrades to work properly with
the new code. On the Windows 8.1 Preview forums, I've read page after
page of reports from frustrated Preview users who had either failed
upgrades or problems with incompatible devices. OEMs can’t afford
widespread issues for customers getting released code.
Second, Microsoft still has work to do on its first-party Windows 8
apps, especially the unified Windows communication suite that
incorporates the Mail, People, and Calendar apps.
And finally, those few extra months allow time for some high-profile
third-party developers to get on board with Windows 8 apps. Facebook,
for example, is still missing in action on the platform.
There will also, of course, be fixes for the official Windows 8.1
code between now and October, released via Windows Update. But the
update itself is locked down.
There's no indication in today's consumer announcement of when the
Windows 8.1 code will be available for developers on MSDN, nor when the
Enterprise edition will be available for general release. I've asked
Microsoft for comment and will update this post when I hear back.
Update: Microsoft declined to comment on either of these questions.
