The next major version of Windows (to be dubbed either 9 or "Threshold") will look and work differently depending on what hardware it is running on ZDNet reports.
Thus, in a bid to appease disgruntled Windows 8 users Threshold will reportedly run in Windows Desktop mode (via either SKU or version) on laptops or desktop PCs, tablets get a Metro-style UI and hybrid devices will be able to switch between Metro and Desktop modes depending on whether a keyboard is connected or not.
The desktop/laptop SKU should feature the customisable Mini-Start menu seen at BUILD 2014, and will be able to run Metro-style/Windows Store apps in windows on the desktop.
Meanwhile the Threshold combined phone/tablet SKU (reportedly able to run on ARM-based Windows Phones and on Windows tablets carrying either ARM or Intel Atom CPUs) will not have a desktop environment, but will still support apps running side by side.
When will we see this new Windows version? As early as a Q3 2014 public preview before release on Q2 2015. And, in an unprecedented move, Threshold might even be free for all Windows 8.1 Update and (maybe) Windows 7 Service Pack 1 users, ZDNet concludes.
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