Qualcomm’s President and CEO Cristiano Renno Amon recently gave the world big hints about what might be an upcoming Windows release. In an earnings call, Amon mentioned that the “next version of Microsoft Windows” will ship featuring Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon X Elite hardware around mid-2024.
While it’s not the first time we’ve heard a technology executive mention upcoming Windows releases (Intel mentioned a Windows refresh for 2024), the news comes at a time when rumors are spreading like wildfire for what’s next for Windows at Microsoft. Amon’s comments, though, were more focused on the timing of the Snapdragon X Elite release date. He highlighted how the company maintains a mid-2024 launch for the SoC, timed with the typical season when consumers tend to buy new PCs. He didn’t confirm it specifically, but that should essentially mean a June release date. The CEO also hinted at AI features in “the next version of Windows, which we know have been in testing in the Windows Insider program. His full comment about it can be seen below.
“We’re tracking to the launch of products with this chipset tied with the next version of Microsoft Windows that has a lot of the Windows AI capabilities. We’re still maintaining the same date, which is driven by Windows, which is mid-2024, getting ready for back-to-school.”
It is uncertain whether what Amon is referring to will be Windows 12, or just Windows 11 24H2, as there’s a divide on what Microsoft is doing with the naming in Windows right now. What we do know is that Microsoft already mentioned Windows 11 24H2 in support documentation, and there’s recently been a jump in build number from 26047 to 27545 in Microsoft’s own internal Canary Channel, showing that development on the next version of Windows has already started.
Windows Central’s Zac Bowden holds that there could be two waves for the next Windows OS. One built on the Germanium platform, which is what could be teased here by Amon and will ship on physical Snapdragon X Elite PCs. The second could come towards the end of the year. As Amon mentioned, AI features are the highlights, though like Copilot.
