Intel and Microsoft could be preparing for Windows 12, at least going by details shared in a recent leak.
As detailed by The Verge, leaker ‘@leaf_hobby‘ — who previously revealed the full specs of Intel’s Xeon chips before launch — shared information about Intel’s upcoming Meteor Lake desktop chips. Intel internally mentions that the next-gen CPUs will support Windows 12, per the leak.
Although the tweet was deleted, The Verge cites details from VideoCardz that Meteor Lake is also expected to include 20 PCIe Gen5 lanes. Intel and Microsoft declined The Verge’s request for comment on the leaks.
Despite there being no official announcement from Microsoft about Windows 12, it’s worth noting that there will likely be a new version of Windows in the near future. The company reportedly moved back to a three-year release cycle after ditching that approach with Windows 10 — with that in mind, Windows 12 could arrive in 2024.
At the same time, Intel’s Meteor Lake is expected later this year or early in 2024, which means the timing would line up with a potential Windows 12 launch. Meteor Lake will be an important milestone for Intel as the company moves to its ‘Intel 4’ 7nm node and to a ‘chiplet’ design with separate dies for the CPU cores, integrated graphics and input/output. Intel previously said it’d push to include AI capabilities as well.
This lends further credence to the Meteor Lake and Windows 12 integration. Again, Microsoft hasn’t provided any details about Windows 12, but the company has made a strong push in AI software, most notably with the ChatGPT-powered Bing Chat, which recently arrived on Windows 11. Microsoft’s head of consumer marketing, Yusuf Mehdi, told The Verge earlier this week that Microsoft was looking at ways to integrate AI-powered features in future versions of Windows too.
Coupled with AMD’s recent Ryzen 7000 mobile chips, which include a dedicated AI engine, it’s no surprise Intel’s working on its own AI capabilities to support Windows features.
Header image credit: Intel
Source: The Verge
