First Windows 12 hints appear in Intel leaks
Microsoft investing in AI for Windows' next generation
While there haven't yet been any official announcements about Windows 12, there are indications that Microsoft's next-generation operating system is on the horizon.
As reported by The Verge, @leaf_hobby, a well-known hardware leaker who has previously leaked Intel processor specifications before their official launch, recently shared details on Twitter about Intel's upcoming 14th-generation Meteor Lake-S desktop processors.
The details show that Meteor Lake processors will support Windows 12 as an operating system.
While @leaf_hobby has since deleted the tweet, neither Microsoft nor Intel have confirmed or denied the accuracy of the claim or other rumours.
The leak also suggests that Meteor Lake processors will support 20 PCIe 5.0 lanes, with 16 lanes allocated for the GPU and four lanes for storage.
In addition, there is speculation that the upcoming flagship Intel Z890 chipset will include Wi-Fi 7 connectivity.
The Meteor Lake lineup will adopt a "chiplet" (modular) design, and it's been reported that the components will be manufactured using 7nm technology.
Although Microsoft has not shared any information about its plans for Windows 12, there are indications that the company aims to incorporate AI-based functionalities into future iterations of the Windows operating system.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's head of consumer marketing, told The Verge that, as the company works on developing future versions of Windows, it will consider areas where AI can naturally enhance the user experience.
Mehdi also talked about the most recent Windows 11 update, which incorporates AI-based functions like Bing integration, and personalised content recommendations for enterprise users.
Mehdi's remark follows the statement by Windows chief Panos Panay at CES earlier this year, where he said AI is set to "revolutionise" the way users interact with Windows.
Microsoft is said to be developing AI-driven "smart snapping" capabilities for Windows 11.
If the company plans to incorporate AI-based functionalities more extensively in the next version of Windows, it would probably need to work with hardware partners like Intel and AMD to optimise chips capable of handling AI workloads.
AMD has recently released its Ryzen 7000 mobile processors, the first x86 chips to incorporate a dedicated AI engine capable of supporting Microsoft's Windows Studio Effects.
Both AMD and Intel are striving to keep pace with Apple and its M2 chips, which include a dedicated AI component that can process 15.8 trillion operations per second.
Rumours say Microsoft has shifted to a three-year release cycle for Windows, meaning the next significant version should arrive in 2024.
The company initially moved away from the three-year release cycle with the launch of Windows 10 in 2015, with a focus on the concept of Windows as a service.
The release of Windows 11 marked the end of the notion that Windows 10 would be the final iteration of the operating system.