What You Need to Know About the Windows 9 Preview Launching on September 30

Microsoft is reportedly preparing a new event in late September to introduce the very first preview build of Windows 9, and although this might sound very exciting for fanboys, there are a few things that you need to know before downloading and installing this early version of the operating system.

First and foremost, let’s not forget that Windows 9 Preview is exactly what its name says: an early build that allows you to try out some of the features that might or might not be part of the final product.

This means that the Windows 9 Preview could only bring minor differences at first as compared to Windows 8.1 Update, but what we’re hearing is that the Start menu and options to run Metro apps on the desktop are “very likely” to be there.

Secondly, a preview build of an operating system is not supposed to be installed on production machines for obvious reasons. Windows 9 is still in early stages of development, so a number of bugs and issues are also expected to be spotted. And despite this, expect lots of users to complain about Windows 9 Preview for crashing or returning errors all of a sudden.

Microsoft has prepared a smart strategy for those who want to download and install Windows 9 Preview. The build that’s expected to come out on September 30 could be limited to only a few features, but the company would then introduce more options through Windows Update.

Instead of rolling out new builds every time development of another feature is completed, Microsoft would thus update the existing builds via Windows Update to add new functionality.

Another thing that’s worth mentioning is that Windows 9 is very likely to be offered free of charge. People close to the matter revealed that this would be a public preview, meaning that basically everyone would be allowed to install the released ISO.

Windows 9 Preview won’t however provide access to all the features that will be part of the final product. Microsoft is obviously keeping some surprises for the full version of Windows 9, and we’re hearing that the desktop flavor of Cortana is one of them. As a result, do not expect Cortana to be available in Windows 9 Preview, not even in beta version.

The full version of Windows 9 is scheduled to launch in early 2015, and it’s no doubt that a lot can change until this happens. In the meantime, Windows 9 Preview is a great opportunity to see what’s to come for Windows users, so expect lots of users to give it a shot in late September.