Windows 9 to support 8K resolution, offer enhance DPI scaling

Microsoft Windows 9 high resolution tiles
Microsoft Windows 9 high resolution tiles

Update: Windows 9 is now known as Windows 10. Want to know more about when you can get your hands on it? Check out our in-depth Windows 10 release date page

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Windows 9 will be supporting 4K out of the box. However, according to a Russian website, Microsoft's forthcoming operating system will also be able to power 8K monitors (when they become mainstream, that is).

PCPortal published two pictures that appear to show the new sizes of the Windows Explorer icon, which show an ultra-sharp 768 x 768 pixel-resolution grid for the ubiquitous graphic.

Another picture shows how the scaling for classic apps will evolve from 96dpi all the way to 240dpi. That's equivalent to a 8K resolution (7680 x 4320 pixels or 33.2 million pixels) spread over a display with a 37-inch diagonal.

Looking far ahead

The monitor with the highest resolution is Dell's new 27-inch 5K monitor that should be available by the end of the year.

8K displays only exist as prototypes at present, and graphics card that can power simple graphics at such high resolutions - let alone games - are yet to be designed. But it's likely that Microsoft is planning well ahead for the next generation of graphics displays.

4K has yet to become mainstream since the average price of panels is still fairly high; however with the holidays season almost upon us, expect more prices to fall well be below £400 (about $630, AU$700) in the UK at least.

Desire Athow
Managing Editor, TechRadar Pro

Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.