Microsoft announces new release cycle for Windows

Microsoft has announced that it will be returning to a three-year release cycle for new versions of Windows. The shift in schedule comes only a year after Microsoft announced that it was switching to a yearly release cycle. However, the company has decided to move to a more traditional schedule, which will see major releases every three years with an increase in rollouts of new feature in between.

According to media reports, Microsoft is planning on implementing a new “Moments” engineering rollout in 2023, which would allow the company to introduce new features and experiences throughout the year, outside of major OS releases. These rollouts could occur every few months, up to four times a year.

Microsoft is said to be using the same approach with “Moments” as it did with the recent release of its Taskbar weather button and will reportedly group together a handful of new features that have been in testing with Insiders and roll them out before the latest shipping release of Windows.

Reports also state that the next Microsoft release is currently scheduled for 2024, three years after Windows 11 shipped in 2021, with plans for the 2023 client release of Windows reportedly having been cancelled.

At this date, little is known about the 2024 Windows release - which has reportedly been dubbed "Next Valley" by insiders working at the company - as it is currently in the early planning and engineering stages, with reports indicating that details could change at any time.

However, the new changes to Microsoft's schedule will enable the company to make a bigger impact with its new releases of the Windows client every few years while also keeping its in-market version of Windows current with new features and changes that roll out to users on a regular and frequent basis.