Screenshots of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8.1 update have leaked onto the internet, but there’s no sign of the much rumoured return of the Start menu.
Windows 8.1 should receive Update 1 some time in the spring, and many have hoped that Microsoft would take greater steps to improve the much maligned operating system’s usability - particularly when it comes to interactions with a traditional keyboard and mouse setup.
That’s unlikely to happen with this next update, it seems.
Russian Windows leaker WZor has released a bunch of screenshots of Windows 8.1 Update 1, and there’s absolutely no sign of a new Start menu or any other major UI elements.
According to ZDNet, Windows 8.1 Update 1’s main improvements will be under the hood. Its main role will be to further bridge the gap between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1.
By bringing the respective programming interfaces closer together, the hope is that app developers will have less of a problem bringing their products to both of Microsoft’s main operating systems.
According to the leaker, Microsoft will release Windows 8.1 Update 1 to its hardware partners on January 15, with a public release following on April 1. That might well be April Fool’s Day, but it’s also a day before the next Microsoft Build Developer Conference.
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