Windows 9 Leaked? Microsoft Gets to Work on 'Windows Blue' After Windows 8 Launch

With the advent of each new operating system, the tech industry breathlessly moves onto the next-generation of updates.

Microsoft recently debuted Windows 8, but according to ZDNET a software suite known as Windows Blue is already in the works at the company's Redmond headquarters. Sources close to site editor Mary Jo Foley indicate that Blue will launch in just a few months during the summer of 2013.

"I'm not clear if Blue is simply what we in the Windows world typically call a service pack, which is a rollup of fixes and updates. Or maybe Blue is more of a feature pack, which would/could include a rollup of fixes plus some new features," she writes.

Venture Beat reports that "Microsoft will likely adopt Apple style pricing: $20-30 per point release, rather than a big $100+ hit for each new system upgrade," upending its current business model. Microsoft has, however, shown signs of pricing experimentation with its Microsoft Office 2013 suite, which encourages users to transition into a subscription-based service as opposed to a single large investment.  

Convergence and feature equity between mobile and desktop devices appears to be a focus for Blue as well, expanding on the tablet-centric approach that Windows 8 has taken. Microsoft's new OS has received flak from critics for its lack of differentiation between Desktop and handset design choices, so perhaps we will witness a greater level specialization of 8 on each respective platform.