Microsoft now refers to Windows 11 24H2 as the 2024 Update and it only means one thing

Many believed Windows 11 24H2 wasn’t going to happen due to Microsoft reportedly releasing the next Windows version (Windows 12) in 2024, so the company wouldn’t put itself in the situation where it needed to focus on two major releases.

However, Windows 11 24H2 is going to happen after, and according to Microsoft (but spotted by Windows enthusiast, @XenoPanther), it will referred to as the Windows 11 2024 Update.

The first hints of the Windows 11 2024 Update were revealed in the latest builds to the Dev and Canary channels, and so far we have seen the release of many interesting features: we have more options for Copilot, there is the Auto Super Resolution, there is also a Pointer Indicator and many more.

Windows 11 2024 Update will be released, most probably, at the end of 2024, with Septemeber or October being the best candidates. Until then, Microsoft is going to tease us with its features in the Windows Insider Program, where the Dev and the Canary channels currently share the same builds (however, it’s only temporary).

What to expect from this update? Well, a lot of things, but mostly AI features, and improvements to existing capabilities. This summer, Qualcomm is set to make its debut on the CPU market, and the tech giant released a hint on the upcoming Windows AI PCs, so the next Windows 11 patch might have more AI features than we initially expected.

This is also natural, considering that with the release of the new patch, the only thing is clear: Windows 12 won’t happen this year. Despite being speculated that it would be released this year, the next Windows version, which is reportedly very AI-centered, won’t see the light of day this year.

But it’s not entirely a bad thing, though most Windows users are not yet ready to deal with AI daily, so they wouldn’t be prepared to interact with it on an operating system that would ask them to do so for almost everything.

We’re currently made to believe that Windows 12 is all about AI in everything, making users’ lives easier and the experience of navigating Windows richer. But the truth is we’re not there yet. Our last survey shows that less than 50% of Windows users use Copilot daily.

Would an AI-based Windows change that? Well, sure, because in a way users would be forced. But then the operating system would end up being despised, despite its useful features.

That’s why Microsoft chose to delay the release of the next Windows version, to give itself time to come up with a plan that would make Windows users naturally adopt AI. And the Redmond-based tech giant might actually achieve it with these annual updates.