Users will get a preview of Windows Blue in late June, a Microsoft executive said Tuesday.
Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows, said a public preview of the update to the Windows 8 operating system will be available in time for Microsoft's developers' conference next month.
She declined to provide many details about
Windows Blue, the codename for the update, but she said it will enable device makers to create products with smaller screen sizes. She added that despite some reports, Windows Blue won't have any major changes from
Windows 8.
"We're working hard on enabling new kinds of hardware and new kinds of software and doing some innovations in the product," Larson-Green said at the Wired Business Conference in New York.
Microsoft in October launched Windows 8 with a radically redesigned user interface. Since that time, many users have grumbled about certain features, including the lack of a start button. The operating system was expected to boost PC sales, but International Data Corp. last month said Windows 8 actually is hurting the market.
