The Internet has been abuzz about the possible successor to Windows 10 that Microsoft teased. However, it appears the company will not introduce Windows 11, an entirely new desktop OS iteration.
It seems Microsoft may announce the next big Cumulative Feature Update to Windows 10, codenamed Sun Valley. The company accidentally confirmed the existence and upcoming arrival of the large and feature-packed update through a Support Page.
Microsoft is not introducing Windows 11?
Last week, Microsoft announced a press event on June 24. The company hinted it will “unveil the next generation of Windows.”
Microsoft’s Panos Panay even tweeted a teaser video about the announcement. The Tweet contained an image showing what appeared to be sunlight streaming through a Windows logo to create a blurry number 11.
Looking forward to June 24th, hope you’ll join us! #MicrosoftEvent https://t.co/bDONj8sPL4 pic.twitter.com/551P6wLY9z
— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) June 2, 2021
Needless to mention, the Internet started flooding with rumors about Windows 11. Windows 10 is already more than five years old. Hence, the rumors seemed believable.
However, a Support Page may have dashed the hopes of several Windows OS fans. Instead of Windows 11, an entirely new desktop OS, Microsoft might announce the next big Cumulative Feature Update for Windows 10.
Windows "11" is aligns with Sun Valley, the codename of a significant re-work of Windows to make it more modern.
Details: https://t.co/DlSr2r6UX7
— Windows Central Gaming (@WCGamingTweets) June 5, 2021
Microsoft recently changed the HTML meta description for the public ‘Windows Application Management‘ page to use the following description:
“Learn about managing applications in Windows 10 and Windows Sun Valley.”
After realizing they had never officially acknowledged the existence of the Sun Valley update, Microsoft quickly changed the meta description to “Learn about managing applications in Windows 10.”
This accidental reveal is Microsoft’s first public reference to the Windows 10 Sun Valley update. Hence, it is more likely that Microsoft is sticking with Windows 10. Incidentally, Microsoft developer Jerry Nixon once said that Windows 10 would be “the last version of Windows”.
Could Microsoft be moving to a completely different naming scheme for the Windows desktop operating system?
The majority of Windows evolutions had a number, but there have been a few major exceptions. Windows 7 succeeded Windows Vista, which came after Windows XP (ignoring the Windows ME edition). Windows 8 followed, and Windows 10 quickly replaced the quirky iteration.
Some experts claim Microsoft considers Windows 10 and Windows Sun Valley to be significantly different from each other. This may suggest the company is indeed conjuring up the successor to Windows 10.
Report: Microsoft to unveil Windows 11, the rechristened Windows 10 Sun Valley (21H2) update on June 24 #Windows11 https://t.co/0MfkdFHI3f
— WinCentral (@TheWinCentral) June 4, 2021
Apple has always favored odd names for the macOS iterations. The latest, macOS Monterey, succeeds macOS Big Sur, which replaced macOS Catalina. It could be remotely possible that Microsoft is adopting Apple’s naming scheme for macOS.
If Microsoft is indeed abandoning the numbering system, then Windows Sun Valley might just the successor to Windows 10. However, there’s one other technical aspect that, once again dashes the hopes of Windows OS fans.
Can you imagine
Everyone: ong Windows 11 coming cuz 11AM
Microsoft: *laughs in Sun Valley update*— LX86 (@LX862) June 7, 2021
There’s no clear evidence to suggest that Microsoft has adopted or moved on to an entirely new proprietary codebase, which a new OS might need to stand apart from its predecessor.
In fact, Microsoft has continued using Windows 10 as the codebase for the next big update. This strongly suggests Windows 10 Sun Valley Update is arriving, not Windows 11.