London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

What to expect from Microsoft's next version of Windows

What to expect from Microsoft's next version of Windows

A build of an operating system named Windows 11 offers hints of what Microsoft could show Thursday when it talks about what's next for its PC operating system.

Last month, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella teased “one of the most significant updates of Windows of the past decade,” and on Thursday the company is planning to present it to the public.

Refreshing the 35-year-old operating system can result in additional revenue growth for the world’s second-most valuable public company, behind only Apple. Over time, the new Windows will likely be widely adopted as millions of consumers and office workers make the upgrade from Windows 10, the top PC operating system.

In the past few days early adopters have been able to give people a sense of what’s to come, thanks to a leak of a next-generation version of Windows that appeared online last week. The operating system seemed to be part of an incomplete early build, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The leaked build contains a variety of changes, many of which Microsoft could describe at its virtual event on Thursday. Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

Design changes


If the next version of Windows looks anything like the leaked build, then it will be borrowing elements from the shelved Windows 10X, which had originally been conceived to run on dual-screen PCs, for an operating system that went by the name Windows 11. Just as Windows 10X located the Start button and icons for open programs at the center of the taskbar at the bottom of the display instead of the left side, Windows 11 does that, too.

The build incorporates a new Windows icon with four equally sized squares, unlike the icon used for Windows 8 and Windows 10 with window panes that widen from left to right. Individual application windows retain rounded corners, not unlike those in Apple’s MacOS, instead of the sharp corners in Windows 10.

The animations people see while opening and closing windows have changed, and the Start menu displays apps and files in a way that’s similar to the Windows 10X approach. Sounds for notifications and other events have also been revamped.

Modern features


The leaked build came with a few new ways for users to customize their PCs.

Pushing new buttons could make application windows snap into preset configurations on screen. And the Settings app included an option to enable the operating system to “remember window locations based on monitor connection.” That could alleviate one issue people have had with Windows failing to return applications to their previous configuration when people were using multiple displays with their computers.

Computers with touchscreens exposed a new setting called Wake on Touch -- presumably a Windows equivalent of the feature on some mobile devices that allows users to quickly turn on the display by tapping the screen a couple of times.

A performance boost


Some of the people who installed the leaked Windows 11 build ran tests and found that the operating system delivered faster performance than the latest version of Windows 10, which itself was advertised as being “fast and familiar” when it was released in 2015.

The new version delivered better results than Windows 10 in a variety of comparisons on a Samsung PC running an Intel “Lakefield” chip, according to a report from Hot Hardware.

A revamped store


Nadella said last month that the Windows update would benefit developers. One place developers can expose their applications to end users in Windows is Microsoft’s app store. The company already said in April that it will lower the percentage of revenue that it keeps for itself from app store purchases, and Windows 11 could build on that.

Microsoft has been taking steps to permit developers to use third-party commerce systems for apps they’d like to list in the Store, and the company wants to make room for classic Win32 applications in the Store without requiring software changes, Windows Central reported in April.

Surprises


Finally, there could be unexpected announcements. On Tuesday Microsoft employee Miguel de Icaza said on Twitter that the company will talk about something he spent years pushing for. De Icaza joined Microsoft in 2016 as part of its acquisition of Xamarin, which allows software developers to build mobile apps for multiple platforms — including Apple’s IOS and Google’s Android — using Microsoft’s C# programming language.

Microsoft could also use the event as a chance to discuss structural changes to the Windows business.

“We’ll be listening carefully for any hint that Microsoft might use this launch to accelerate the transition of Windows revs to more of a subscription/ratable model, via a ‘Windows-as-a-Service’ offering or via a stronger M365 push (which bundles Office 365, Windows 10 and EMS), and whether an OS/desktop upgrade might boost enterprise Teams adoption,” analysts at UBS, which has a buy rating on Microsoft stock, wrote in a Monday note.

CNBC will cover the event as it unfolds starting at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×