Microsoft’s Tami Reller has today confirmed that the official name for the Windows Blue update is Windows 8.1, which was recently seen in leaked development builds of the OS. Along with this info, Microsoft revealed that the update will be free and available from the Windows Store for all Windows 8 users.
Tami Reller, speaking at the JP Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference has also announced that the Windows Store now has more than 70,000 apps since launch! Reller also mentions that Windows 8.1 is not a service pack, rather just a large update to Windows 8.
“Windows 8.1 will help us to deliver the next generation of PCs and tablets with our OEM partners and to deliver the experiences customers – both consumers and businesses alike – need and will just expect moving forward,” Microsoft stated in an official blog post.
Microsoft has already sold 100 million licenses for Windows 8 and is continually listening to feedback while improving Windows 8, in an effort to make “what’s good even better.” Microsoft’s Julie Larson-Green recently stated that there have been over 739 fixes to Windows 8 since its release in October of 2012.
