Microsoft Windows 9 release date looms after updates from Windows 8.1 and an upcoming Windows 8.2 are presumed to be enhancements to the pre-existing Windows 8.

But it seems like users are not switching to Windows 8 even after Microsoft announced it would be pulling support for the Windows XP support. There is still more than 20% Windows users on XP currently and this will be a problem for Microsoft going forward.

One thing that might help is an early release of Windows 9, likely to bring features like virtual assistant "Cortana, changes to Metro interface, Windows Defender system protection, and improved Windows activation."

According to reports, Microsoft is planning a Windows 9 and Windows Phone 9 release date in Q2 of next year - that would be between April and September of 2015. No comments have been forthcoming from Microsoft but it looks like the Windows 8 tiled interface needs to go; so Windows 9 will be making a correction to this.

Speculation that Microsoft will move away from the Windows RT tablet OS in 2015 and head toward a more unified OS that is user-friendly on smartphones and tablets as a substitute - this will be the new Windows Phone 9.

A recent Windows 8.1 update unveiled in April will most likely include a traditional Windows Start menu.
Looking back at the Windows 8 sales figures, the OS has not been appealing to users with just 200 million licenses sold. In comparison, Windows 7 and XP have fared more sales. In an effort to capture a market that might be slipping away from Microsoft, an early release of Windows 9 would do the trick.

According to leaked images and info from China,"the Windows 9 (code named 'Threshold') will see the light of the day only by next year. In addition, the touch-first Office productivity suite called as Office 'Gemini' version will be launched by late summer of this year. The leaked images of the Office Gemini productivity suite consist of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook," IBT reports.