AS rumors circulate about Microsoft’s development of Windows 9, the next Windows release needs to focus on the apps ecosystem and transforming user interface for mobile, says analyst.
“Future versions of Windows will need to have more than just a facelift as fundamentally there needs to be greater development of its apps ecosystem and seamless integration between the hardware, the Modern UI and the Desktop UI for wider adoption,” IDC analyst Amy Cheah told CN.
“For Microsoft, catching up with this momentum means redesigning a traditional desktop operating system into a touch-based mobile operating system.
“This not only involves transformation of the user interface but also development of new applications and optimisation of desktop software for tablets and smartphones usage.”
Microsoft and its PC hardware vendors are still trying to get the formula right.
But despite popular thinking – neither Microsoft or Windows 8, are to blame for the PC slump, which saw the greatest fall in history last year, says Cheah.
It’s smartphones. And tablets.
“While it is easy to blame Window’s 8 for its failure to reverse the declining PC demand, it is not the reason, if at all, behind the downward trend of the PC market.”
PC demand was falling before touch-based Windows 8 was released, due to the emergence of iPad, tablets and smartphones.
“The bigger change at the root of this decline is the shift in device form factor,” says Cheah.
Microsoft blogger Paul Thurrott broke the news that Windows 9, codenamed ‘Threshold’, will be released April 2015, designed to fix the “Metro” design, and restarting the ‘Start’ menu, he believes.
9’s development was sparked by the “tanking” of Windows 8 released in October 2012, along with 8.1 upgrade, the blogger says.
Microsoft have yet to confirm anything about W9.
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