Qualcomm publicly confirms next Windows and it could be Windows 11 or Windows "12"

The hype around the potential launch of next-gen Windows, something casually referred to by the community as "Windows 12," is palatable. It all started with the report alleging that Microsoft was planning a move back to its three-year release cadence for every Windows.

As such, more rumors started building up around this development though some of them, as Neowin pointed out, did not make much sense due to the lack of matching evidence. More recent reports paint a different picture since apparently, Microsoft has had a change of heart and as such, Windows "12" may not be happening in 2024.

Still, there is mixed evidence about the matter. Microsoft seems to have confirmed that a "New Windows Client" is indeed landing, though that could be pointing toward Windows 11 version 24H2, traces of which first started appearing at the end of last year, inside a DMSA-related group policy. Later on, more evidence was unearthed in official documentation related to the enumeration of device drivers. However, there was a recent build jump from 26047 to 27545 which might be pointing towards early next-gen Windows work.

Qualcomm at its latest Q1 2024 earnings call, added that the "next version of Microsoft Windows" is arriving in "mid-2024." Cristiano Renno Amon, President and Chief Executive Officer of the company stated:

.. We're tracking to the launch of products with this chipset tied with the next version of Microsoft Windows that has a lot of the Windows AI capabilities. We're still maintaining the same date, which is driven by Windows, which is mid-2024, getting ready for back-to-school. ..

In case you are wondering about the product and chipset being discussed, it is the Snapdragon X Elite and Qualcomm has added in its report that it's seeing even more design wins.

Qualcomm's own presentation suggested that it tested its X Elite chipset on an undefined "Windows OS" different than Windows 11 and this can certainly lead to the idea that perhaps the company has internally already run on Windows "12" on its hardware.

You can view the full performance charts in our dedicated article.

Besides, this isn't the first time that the mid-2024 release time frame for next-gen Windows has been mentioned. Last year, another report surfaced which claimed something similar, that Microsoft and its hardware OEM partners were gearing up for the launch of a whole bunch of "AI PCs" in June. Besides Qualcomm, a senior Intel executive had also stated that a "Windows refresh" was on the cards in 2024.

Source: Qualcomm Q124 earnings transcript (PDF) via PCMag

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