Microsoft on Tuesday revealed that it’s not planning to release a major “Windows 8.1 Update 2” at any point in the near future, although the company will release several other smaller updates as part of its regular Windows 8.1 update release schedule.
“With the above in mind, rather than waiting for months and bundling together a bunch of improvements into a larger update as we did for the Windows 8.1 Update, customers can expect that we’ll use our already existing monthly update process to deliver more frequent improvements along with the security updates normally provided as part of ‘Update Tuesday,’” the company wrote. “So despite rumors and speculation, we are not planning to deliver a Windows 8.1 ‘Update 2.’”
Following Build 2014, Windows 8.1 users expected Microsoft to release a second major update in the second half of the year, with the Start menu’s return being one of its major features. However, more and more reports revealed that Microsoft decided to ditch such plans for Windows 8.1, choosing instead to make the return of the Start menu one of the highlights of Windows 9.
In the same blog post, the company did confirm that an update will be available to users on August 12th, bringing several fixes to Windows 8.1, as follows:
- Precision touchpad improvements – three new end-user settings have been added: Leave touch pad on when a mouse is connected; allow right-clicks on the touchpad; double-tap and drag.
- Miracast Receive – exposes a set of Wi-Fi direct APIs for Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) drivers or OEM drivers to develop Windows 32-bit applications that run on all supported x86-based or x64-based versions of Windows 8.1, enabling the computer as a Miracast receiver.
- Minimizing login prompts for SharePoint Online – reduces the number of prompts with federated use in accessing SharePoint Online sites. If you select the “Keep me signed in” check box when you log on for the first time, you will not see prompts for successive access to that SharePoint Online site.
