Microsoft 'Windows Blue' Will Be a Free Release Officially Called Windows 8.1

Microsoft has announced that Windows Blue will be a free update to Windows 8 dubbed 'Windows 8.1', reports the WSJ.

The software expected in coming months will effectively be a second launch of Windows 8, the operating system that debuted last October to great fanfare but fairly tepid sales. But the Windows 8.1 name underscores that Microsoft considers the revised software a relatively minor update and not a do-over, which would point to fundamental problems with the original product.

Tami Reller, CMO and CFO of Microsoft Windows, made the announcement at a J.P. Morgan investor conference Tuesday morning.


“It is an update, which is why it’s called Windows 8.1,” Reller said. She also noted that the operating system “just keeps getting better and better every day.”

A test version of Windows 8.1 will be released to the public in late June, likely at Microsoft's Build Conference.

Read More