Making a PC operating system is no easy task, so Microsoft doesn’t tend to take many breaks. As soon as one OS is out the door, the next one is underway, and it now looks like the successor to Windows 8 is underway. The Verge has some details about the new OS, from sources inside Microsoft, and they point to a new approach to Windows development.

Going forward, Windows will apparently have a yearly update cycle, much like OS X does now. Rather than releasing a whole new version of Windows every few years, Microsoft will be going the Apple route of providing a significant update every year, like clockwork. They’re already been leaning this direction with the Service Packs for the last couple versions of Windows, but now it sounds like they’re ready to fully embrace the idea.

Windows Blue Rumor

Next year, the future OS that’s been codenamed Windows Blue will mark the first annual update for Windows 8. It will apparently include an interface update and other platform tweaks and upgrades, but little is known as to what specific features will be on offer in Blue – Microsoft may not even know that yet themselves.

What we do know is that the upgrade will keep the Windows 8 name (like how Apple has stuck with the OS X name), and will be either extremely cheap or completely free. You will need a legitimate copy of an earlier version of Windows in order to install Blue, however, so hold onto that Windows 8 disc!