Update (9:51 pm GMT): After publishing a Tweet claiming that Windows 12 was being worked on and would have "two TPMs," Swift on Security has put up a second Tweet saying that the first one was nothing more than a joke. Deskmodder.de, however, maintains that a new version of Windows will begin development in March 2022. An earlier version of this article had cited Swift on Security's tweet as corroboration of Deskmodder's still-serious claims. We've clarified where necessary in the article below.
Amended article:
We don't know much about Deskmodder.de's alleged inside source at Microsoft, but the German site claims it has information that the Redmond software giant has either started or is on the verge of beginning the development of Windows 12 (via Computerbase.de). If true, Microsoft would do this just days after delivering the most significant update to Windows 11 since its introduction.
Earlier in the day, it appeared that Deskmodder.de had some very reliable corroboration. For example, Microsoft MVP Swift on Security tweeted that a source at Microsoft had told him, "Windows 12 is already under development, and it's going to require two TPMs."
The "two TPMs," was a joke which is relevant because Windows 11 is the first version of the OS to require TPM at all (see how to bypass Windows 11's TPM requirement). However, before Swift said this was a joke, we speculated that the "two TPMs" could actually refer to two different security methods, such as the fTPM still present in the AMD Platform Security Processor and the additional security in the new on-chip Microsoft Pluton Processor.
Now that Swift has stated that its information was nothing more than a joke, we are left without much detail about the rumor Deskmodder.de is reporting, and it's unclear whether there's any grain of truth to it. However, it's easy to imagine that there will eventually be another major version of Windows after Windows 11 and that Microsoft could begin the multi-year process of development even now.
Are Windows Major Version Updates on a Roll Again?
Windows 10 was presumably the last version of the Windows OS when released back in 2015. It was pleasant to know that we would have an extended period of stability, with biannually alternating under-the-hood and feature updates from the OS that saved us from Windows 8. However, the announcement and launch of Windows 11 rudely awoke us from our contented undulating OS progress.
The story goes that Windows 11 was somehow necessary as the scale of the change demanded it. Some of the most significant heralded changes included a revamped task scheduler, which would make PCs more efficient with Intel's hybrid architecture Alder Lake processors becoming mainstream. Furthermore, there was a lot of emphasis on system security. It was mainly on this altar that Microsoft felt confident enough to sacrifice many serviceable older-gen CPUs (Intel Kaby Lake or older, AMD Ryzen 1000 or older).
So far, Windows 11 doesn't seem to have caught the hearts and minds of PC users. However, Windows has a fabled good version / bad version cycle. For this reason, as well as perhaps pressure from systems and component makers to promote hardware upgrades, Microsoft might be getting back on the regular major Windows version update track.
However, at this point, these rumors about Windows 12 development require a really big grain of salt.
