Next Big Update to Windows Could Come in Spring of 2015

With Windows 8.1 only hours away from its official début, depending on a user’s time-zone, rumors are now circulating about the next major update for Windows.

Rumors about the next big software update for Microsoft’s new unified Operating Systems Group indicate that the next version of Microsoft’s Windows Phone and Windows operating system could come as soon as Spring 2015, according to ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley.

Allegedly, this update could include the unified Windows Phone and Windows RT operating system that industry insiders are sharing information about lately. Foley’s sources don’t necessarily confirm that a merger of the two operating systems is happening, however she does believe that if it were to happen this Spring 2015 would be it. Recent reports have already indicated that Microsoft plans to merge Windows Phone Store and Windows Store already.

Foley also believes that this merged operating system for devices not based on Intel and AMD processors will be built on the code of Windows Phone rather than Windows RT because it, “tends to be easier to take a “smaller” OS and add to it than to take a larger one and remove features from it, it’s likely that the Windows Phone OS is the one on top of which the new operating systems group will build.”

While users might have to wait until spring 2015 for a large-scale update, that doesn’t mean that’ll be the only thing to look forward to. Some of Foley’s sources also indicate Windows users could see a small Windows update around the time that Microsoft ships Windows Phone Blue. Previous rumors and today’s reports from Foley indicate that launch could come in early 2014

While 2015 seems like it’s a bit too long for Microsoft to wait for a major operating system update, when combined with the possibility of an update in 2014, Microsoft is setting a pretty blistering pace for its unified Operating Systems Group (or OSG). Previously, large-scale updates to Windows took about four years to come to users. It’s this new OSG that will create and support the operating systems of the entire company for now on. That includes Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox.

Read: 26 Awesome Features in Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 will begin going out to users as a free update to Windows 8 today.