There is almost certainly a new version of Windows in the works. And I couldn’t be happier about that.
It’s been a few years since Windows 11 was released in October 2021, and while Microsoft continues to update it with new features on a regular basis, there’s plenty of room for improvement.
We’ve been hearing rumors about what the next version of Windows will be like for years, and after using Windows 11 since the developer preview days, I have some requests for improvements for Windows 12.
It seems like Windows 12 may not launch in 2024, but it would make a lot of sense for Microsoft to release the update for 2025. After all, October 2025 is when Microsoft will finally stop supporting the venerable Windows 10, and that will be four. years of useful life of Windows 11.
It may seem like a quick turnaround, but that’s probably what Microsoft needs to do if it wants to capitalize on the industry’s current fervor for AI-enabled PCs. Now that many Windows PC vendors are shipping new laptops with Intel Meteor Lake chips, they’re talking about how the NPUs (Neural Processing Units) in those chips help them excel at “AI” tasks, and Microsoft is quick to include AI features in Windows 11.
The most obvious example is Windows Copilot, the virtual assistant built into Windows 11 that works with the same technology that powers Bing with ChatGPT. Copilot is getting new features at a fairly regular pace, even with its own key on the keyboard, so Microsoft is clearly invested in making it and AI a core part of Windows.
But after using Copilot on Windows 11 since its launch, I can’t help but feel that there is a better way to implement this technology in an operating system. It’s a key Windows feature that feels uncomfortably cluttered, and it’s not the only part of Windows that fits that description.
So as we prepare for the next version of Windows in late 2024 or 2025, I can’t help but hope that Microsoft is working to make some big changes this time around. I’ve been using Windows 11 for years and these are the updates I dream of seeing.
Better AI integration
I mentioned Copilot first for a reason: it’s simultaneously one of the most interesting new Windows features and the one that most needs some work.
Copilot’s promise is clear: Press a button to summon a chatbot that can answer questions or perform basic tasks for you. When it launched in fall 2023, I thought Copilot could be a game-changer in the way we work, and after watching it evolve for half a year, I still feel that way, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
Windows Copilot is a good initial step towards a truly AI-powered PC, but it still feels very limited. Every Windows 11 user can ask Copilot for help with basic questions or problems on their PC, and it can also do some neat tricks like generating images for free.
But Windows Copilot still can’t reliably answer technical questions about Windows, nor can you count on it to help you perform basic Windows tasks, like changing power settings or starting programs. Microsoft adds new features regularly, but even as Copilot learns new skills, it can often be tricky to get the LLM-powered AI assistant to do what you ask.
This is not surprising, as it is a fairly cutting-edge new implementation of technology that has been incorporated into Windows 11. Despite its shortcomings, I think Copilot gives us a taste of how exciting AI-optimized PCs can be when the software is designed to take full advantage of NPUs (Neural Processing Units) on AMD and Intel CPUs.
So while Copilot has been an interesting first attempt, in the next version of Windows, I would love to see Microsoft integrate AI more closely with the operating system in a way that allows users to do more with less effort. A Windows with better AI integration could do things like scan and answer questions (in natural language) about what files and programs are on your PC, or it could analyze voice control requests like “turn on dark mode, close all apps , launch Chrome, and navigate to YouTube” reliably enough that Windows can reach a whole new level of accessibility.
Useful widgets
I love a good widget, so imagine my delight when we heard that Windows 11 would ship with a new widget menu that you can open and close with the press of a button.
The promise of a customizable dashboard packed with useful, information-rich elements won me over, but the practical outcome left me cold.
At launch, Windows 11’s widget menu was anemic and frustrating, with very few widgets offering very little customization. Instead of a useful, personalized one-stop shop for all the key details I like to stay on top of (like weather, email, text messages, and news), Windows widgets have been annoying to use and easy to ignore. Microsoft has improved them since their release with some major updates, but I’d still prefer to use the widgets on macOS Sonoma over Windows 11 any day.
In fact, if Microsoft were to simply copy how Apple implemented widgets in macOS Sonoma for Windows 12, I think it would be a significant improvement in usability. Windows fans deserve a widget menu that really begs to be used, with more granular controls over how widgets are positioned, what information they display, and how often they are updated.
A vision for Android app support
Man, what happened to Android apps on Windows 11?
If you don’t remember, that was one of the main selling points of the operating system when Microsoft started showing it off. And despite launching without much support for Android apps, Windows 11 has finally been updated to the point where it’s pretty easy for the average user to download an Android app and run it on their PC.
But unfortunately, it’s still a bit difficult to find good apps on the Microsoft Store and you’re limited to Android apps available through the Amazon App Store. With those shackles in place, perhaps it’s not so surprising that Microsoft now plans to stop supporting Android apps on Windows 11 before March 5, 2025.
That’s really a shame, because it would be really nice to have seamless access to Android apps on Windows PCs. You might not think of any fun ways to use Android apps on your Windows desktop, but today the best 2-in-1 laptops are light enough and have nice enough touchscreens to make Windows 11 feel enjoyable. when navigating by touch alone. And if you’re going to be tapping and swiping on your laptop, you might appreciate having a bunch of touch-optimized apps for all your favorite services right at your fingertips.
This would also help Windows match one of the key selling points of macOS Sonoma, which is that Mac users can access the App Store and run iOS and iPadOS apps on their Macs. Since Windows laptops still are ahead of MacBooks in terms of touchscreens, a Windows 12 with better Android app support and integration could be much more useful and fun to use.
panorama
It’s hard to say anything concrete about what to expect from the next version of Windows, except that we may hear more about it at Microsoft’s Build conference in May.
Whether it’s called Windows 12 or something else, the recent arrival of AI mania, fueled in large part by Microsoft’s own Bing with ChatGPT, has given Windows plenty of room to grow.
A year ago, you would never have imagined there would be many reasons to ditch Windows 11, but with new AI apps and features launching every day, it’s hard not to get excited about what an AI-focused Windows 12 could offer. I guess we will have to wait and see!
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