It’s official: Windows Blue will be Windows 8.1, and it will be free

Microsoft shared some more news about its upcoming Windows update on Tuesday, informally known as Windows Blue: it will be officially called Windows 8.1, and it will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows store.

The news was released by Tami Reller, corporate vice-president and CFO of Microsoft’s Windows division, at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston. Reller told attendees that Microsoft is focused on delivering continual updates to Windows, and Windows 8.1 is the next step in that strategy that began with the launch of Windows 8.

Microsoft also confirmed a public preview of Windows 8.1 for both Windows 8 and Windows RT will be available June 26, coinciding with its Build developer conference in San Francisco. The timeline for wider consumer availability of the final release still unclear, but Reller did say she wants to see product shipping with Windows 8.1 preloaded before the important holiday shopping season.

Reller did not provide insight, however, on what will be in 8.1. Recent rumours have stirred optimism of significant tweaks, such as the return of the Start Button and the option for PC users to boot directly to the desktop. Reller didn’t dispel or confirm those rumours, but took pains to position 8.1 as a seamless upgrade and didn’t mention any changes to the user interface.

In a Q&A on Microsoft’s Windows Blog last week, Reller said the vendor is pleased with the performance of Windows 8 so far.

“Windows 8 is a big, ambitious change,” said Reller. “While we realize that change takes time, we feel good about the progress since launch, including what we’ve been able to accomplish with the ecosystem and customer reaction to the new PCs and tablets that are available now or will soon come to market.”

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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Jeff Jedras
Jeff Jedras
A veteran technology and business journalist, Jeff Jedras began his career in technology journalism in the late 1990s, covering the booming (and later busting) Ottawa technology sector for Silicon Valley North and the Ottawa Business Journal, as well as everything from municipal politics to real estate. He later covered the technology scene in Vancouver before joining IT World Canada in Toronto in 2005, covering enterprise IT for ComputerWorld Canada. He would go on to cover the channel as an assistant editor with CDN. His writing has appeared in the Vancouver Sun, the Ottawa Citizen and a wide range of industry trade publications.

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