Microsoft could be planning on unleashing ‘the new Windows’ soon

Windows 10X
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Rumor has it that Microsoft is getting ready to deploy what it’s calling ‘the new Windows’ in the near future.

This comes from well-known Microsoft leaker WalkingCat on Twitter, who tweeted that this ‘new’ Windows – whatever it may be – is coming next month. Although a follow-up tweet quickly clarified that “it’s coming, but maybe not next month, sorry”.

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Of course, that means that ‘maybe’ it could still turn up in March, and seemingly March but more likely April are the months to watch for the debut of what is presumably Windows 10X, Microsoft’s incoming lightweight version of Windows.

The release date of Windows 10X Microsoft is aiming for is spring 2021, going by the rumor mill, so April is a good fit with that.

Here comes the Sun?

However, some of the denizens of Twitter have chimed in that this might be referring to the revamp of Windows 10 known as project ‘Sun Valley’, which is promising to be a big overhaul of the desktop interface, but it seems less likely that this could be called the ‘new Windows’ rather than the new look for Windows.

Furthermore, Sun Valley isn’t expected to be implemented until the second half of 2021 in the H2 update, which will be the big feature update for this year – and obviously that’s nowhere near happening (we’ve not even seen the minor H1 update arrive yet).

That said, the leak could point to Microsoft teasing Sun Valley in the near future in some manner, but still, it feels like Windows 10X is the more likely project being referred to here.

If indeed all this means anything at all – this is an unsubstantiated rumor, so as ever, treat with a good deal of caution.

Windows Latest, which spotted the above tweet, further adds that according to its sources, Microsoft is set to hold a ‘What’s new for Windows’ event in either April or May, or perhaps it’ll be a session at the big Build 2021 conference (the latter hasn’t yet had a timeframe announced, but could happen as soon as May).

As an aside, Microsoft reportedly also has a ‘What’s new for gaming’ event which it’s planning for March 23, as Paul Thurrott noted on Twitter, and the Windows event will supposedly happen after that.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).