There's every reason to believe that 2024 will be a major year for Microsoft.
Just a few days ago - at the Ignite 2023 conference - Microsoft added another string to its bow by unveiling processors of its own making, the Cobalt 100 and Maia 100, whose main objective is to support the needs of all Microsoft Azure solutions and services. These processors should be massively deployed in the course of next year, even if Microsoft has not published a precise timetable.
The year 2024 looks set to be a milestone for Microsoft... that is, if everything goes according to plan. Indeed, the Redmond-based firm has confirmed the arrival of a new version of its office suite, but rather than simply evolving Office 365, Microsoft has the idea of offering an Office 2024 that will work with a classic "lifetime license". A big word for something quite simple: it will no longer be necessary to pay a monthly subscription to enjoy the office suite. It's worth remembering that since Office 2021, Microsoft had only evolved the Office 365 suite, available via a subscription system.
Office 2024 will therefore mark a change in business model in addition to bringing many new functional features. And, as explained by Skanda Hazarika on the XDA-Developers blog, it's already possible to discover the content of this Office 2024. Microsoft has indeed deployed a pre-release version. Skanda Hazarika details how to access this pre-release, and while it's not an impossible task, it does require a little elbow grease. Those less impatient will no doubt be able to wait for the release of the office suite which, according to the latest rumors, could arrive in the second or third quarter of next year.
This would put the release of another major Microsoft product, Windows 12, a few weeks ahead of schedule. Here, we must remain cautious, as several hypotheses are still being put forward. For some, Windows 12 is a reality and will indeed follow on from Windows 11. Others, on the other hand, are more inclined to think in terms of a vast update of Windows 11 and a return to Windows as a service. All bets are off. As far as the roll-out of the "future of Windows" is concerned, 2024 seems in no doubt, and it's the official account of the Windows Insider program that implies this when, to the evocation of a new version of Windows, it replies " the future is really promising ". Can't wait for next year!
