Windows 12 may be released in June 2024.

According to the Commercial Times (via sibling publications Tom's Hardware and TechRadar), Windows 12 was discussed at the recent Taiwan Medical Technology Exhibition in Taipei. According to the Taiwanese publication, Quanta Computer chairman Barry Lam said that Microsoft will announce a follow-up to Windows 11 "next summer." If true, this OS would be available as early as June 2024.

The report also claims that Lam mentioned an "AI PC" as well. This last part is not surprising given that the new Intel Core Ultra chip (with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) to handle AI-specific workloads) is about to debut on December 14. Previous Windows 12 rumors claimed that the operating system would double down on AI. If so, an AI-friendly Windows 12 would undoubtedly utilize the NPUs of the Intel Core Ultra or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips.

We have heard several sporadic Windows 12 rumors over the past few months, but Microsoft has not officially announced a successor to Windows 11. There will undoubtedly be a new version of Windows in the future, but no one knows its exact release date. Therefore, it is best to treat this latest report with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Windows 11 will debut in 2021, refining the Windows experience on the best computers and the best Windows laptops. However, it was not universally well received by many Windows 10 users. Perhaps that's why Microsoft is so eager to release a successor so soon.

After all, there are only three years between Windows 11 and Windows 12 compared to the six years between Windows 10 and Windows 11. Perhaps the company wants a fresh start. In doing so, it may be able to give the declining PC and laptop market a shot in the arm.

Of course, another possible reason why Microsoft might launch Windows 12 in 2024 is to take advantage of the "AI" arms race in current technology. Especially at the 2024 CES, it is expected that AI-optimized PC hardware will be introduced to the market in droves. Microsoft itself is leading the way, having just recently invested $10 billion in OpenAI. With that in mind, it makes sense to release an AI-friendly Windows 12 to harness the power of computers with NPU-powered processors.

We will keep you posted as news about Windows 12 comes in!