We know that Microsoft will launch a preview version of Windows 8.1 on June 26th, the first day of its BUILD 2013 developer conference. But what about the release of the final version? Tech journalist Paul Thurrott, who concentrates most of his coverage on Microsoft, claims that he may have heard the answer to that question from an inside source.
In a post on his Twitter account on Friday, Thurrott states:
What date will Windows 8.1 ship? 8/1. Duh. :)
— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) June 7, 2013
In case that was not clear to some of our European readers, "8/1" refers to August 1st in the US. not January 8th. When a Twitter follower claimed that he had heard a Windows 8.1 ship date of October 14th "from a major tech company", Thurrott replied, "I was told this from someone a little closer to the matter." Thurrott tends to be fairly accurate in his rumor stories so we should soon see if the August 1st day is in fact correct.
Thurrott also commented in that same Twitter exchange about the launch date for Windows Phone 8.1, stating, "Windows Phone 8.1 "Blue" will ship late this year or early in 2014."
Source: Paul Thurrott on Twitter