According to a report by Neowin, the next major version of Windows, currently known as Threshold might have a different look and feel to what we see now in Windows 8.1.
Currently, thanks to user feedback, users of Windows 8.1 can opt to boot directly to the desktop, with the Modern UI environment easily accessible with a click of the Start button. However, the Neowin report mentions that Microsoft will take that feature a step further in the next version. Early builds of Threshold reportedly have the Modern UI side of Windows completely disabled by default, making the desktop the first and only environment to work in.
Modern apps downloaded from the Windows Store will still be accessible and will run inside individual windows within the desktop, similar to what Microsoft teased at their Build developer conference.
Fret not, the Modern UI is here to stay though, whether or not it will be present by default depends on the device that Windows is running on. The touch-friendly UI will still be front and center on tablets and possibly touch-enabled laptops, desktops, and all-in-ones, but gone on mouse and keyboard-only PC’s, which makes sense.
If you remember back in 2009, critics called Windows 7 “the OS that Vista should have been”, with Microsoft relying primarily on user feedback that made 7 the success that it is today. Are we in for a repeat? Is Threshold the OS that Windows 8 should have been? Sound off below!
