Microsoft Confirms Windows 8.1 is a Free Update

Still no confirmation of an exact release date.

Last week, Microsoft admitted the company was at work on the first major update for Windows 8, codenamed "Blue." Details were scarce at the time, but Microsoft CMO and CFO Tami Reller has now formally revealed the update as Windows 8.1 during JP Morgan's Technology, Media, & Telcom Conference, reports Engadget. Unfortunately, there's still no confirmation of a precise release date.

Reller stated Windows 8.1 will launch as a free update to both the standard Windows 8 OS and its ARM-based RT cousin. According to Reller, the update will roll out sometime later this year. A public preview is still slated for June 26, during Microsoft's upcoming Build conference.
Last week, Reller stated the forthcoming update would address "customer feedback" Microsoft had received for Windows 8 and Windows RT. During the same talk, Microsoft announced the company had sold over 100 million licenses of its latest OS since launching six months prior.
But there's still plenty of questions that remain unanswered, including the precise details of what changes Windows 8.1 will offer for users. And moreover, Reller's previous statements about smaller tablets--coupled with increasing rumors of a 7-inch Surface--have raised expectations for what Microsoft may announce later in 2013.

 

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