Windows 9
Screenshot of Windows 9 with build number 9788.

Microsoft will reportedly introduce Windows 9 this Fall, according to a report from BGR. The report cites information from the Russian hacker group Wzor, which revealed the information on a forum last week.

The new OS will be announced after the arrival of the Windows 8.1 Update 2, which is expected to roll out during mid-August. Even though the current OS will receive a few more updates after this, there won't be any features added to it, since Microsoft will then focus all its energy on Windows 9.

The hacker group also detailed that Microsoft will make solid advertising efforts to promote Windows 9 and that it will try to please its fans with the re-introduction of the Start button, which went missing in Windows 8. This is consistent with recent reports that said that Microsoft will not be adding the Start button along with the Windows 8.1 Update 2.

Earlier today, IB Times UK also reported a leaked screenshot of Window 9 and it features the good old Start button with a minor design change. The leaked image came from MyDigitalLife forum via Neowin, which after speaking to a source close to Microsoft claims the leaked screenshot is legitimate.

Apart from this, Microsoft will also cut mainstream support for Windows 7, the operating system that is currently present on more than half of the world's computers, during January 2015. Users of the OS will have to depend on Microsoft's extended-support scheme from January 2015, which will bring them security fixes at no cost. However, they will have to pay for hotfix updates.