First Windows 8.1 update coming March 11?

After having supposedly been leaked online earlier this month, the much-awaited first Windows 8.1 update might finally have a definite launch date.

 

Users of devices running Microsoft's Windows 8.1 might want to mark March 11 on their calendars - that's when the OS' Update 1 is expected to roll out, a tech site reported.

 

ZDNet said Windows 8.1 Update 1 may include improvements that may reduce memory and disk space requirements for cheaper devices, ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley said.

 

"(T)he relatively minor update coming to Windows 8.1 this spring is allegedly March 11, according to one of my accurate and trusted sources. Yes, that's a Patch Tuesday," Foley wrote.

 

She also noted Microsoft will likely deliver Update 1 to Windows 8.1 users via its Windows Update mechanism.

 

Foley also said her sources pointed out Update 1 may include tweaks to further bring down Windows 8.1's memory and disk space requirements.

 

Other rumored features include allowing users to pin Metro-style/Windows Store apps to their desktop task bars, and thumbnail previews of these Metro-style apps from the Desktop task bar.

 

She added Windows 8.1 Update 1 may include close boxes for Metro-style apps.

 

Meanwhile, Foley noted the rumored March 11 release may come weeks before the debut of Windows Phone 8.1.

 

"From what I've heard, Windows Phone 8.1 won't be available to consumers until later this April, at the earliest, though developers will likely have access to the bits sooner than that," she added.

 

On the other hand, Foley said her sources indicated there won't be application programming interface (API) changes made to Windows 8.1 Update 1.

 

"Instead, Windows 8.1 Update 1 will be focused primarily on making Windows 8.1 more useful to business users," she said. — TJD, GMA News