Microsoft's "Windows 11 24H2" mention could throw a wrench at the 'Windows 12' rumor mill

Update: A new report suggests Windows "12" is launching in June 2024.

As we near the end of 2023, the hype and excitement around the next version of Windows in the Windows and the general tech enthusiast community is palpable. That's because it is expected that Microsoft will be releasing the next major Windows version, casually referred to by the community as 'Windows 12' next year.

In case you haven't been paying attention to the Windows 12 rumors and leaks, a report from back in mid-2022 suggested that Microsoft would be going back to its three-year upgrade cadence, which implied that Windows 11, which landed in 2021, would be succeeded by a new Windows version in 2024.

We recently speculated that Windows 12 could indeed become a real thing next year given how Microsoft seemingly did not deny the existence of a "New Windows Client". While that may have been a stretch on our part given how Microsoft can not publicly comment on unannounced leaks and rumors, there have been an overwhelming number of reports suggesting that the next Windows version could indeed be landing in 2024. A senior Intel executive stated that a "Windows refresh" was happening, though once again, there was no specific confirmation of the version name as "Windows 12."

As we wait with bated breath to see what actually ends up happening next year, Microsoft may have unknowingly helped to ease the hype and excitement built up around it a bit; or perhaps it has made things even more interesting depending on how you look at it.

Inside a group policy related to the new DMSA (Delegated Managed Service Account) feature in Active Directory (AD), X (formerly Twitter) user and Windows enthusiast Xeno, spotted the mention of "Windows 11 Version 24H2" as a requirement for the DMSA group policy.

The first image below shows the screenshot of the group policy (GP) in focus whereas the image below shows the ADML Administrative Template file of that GP:

The mention of Windows 11 24H2 could mean a few things here. Perhaps Microsoft is simply using it as a placeholder name for Windows 12, though that seems a bit too unlikely given how it gets a mention inside a GP.

It could also be a 2024 feature update for Windows 11, separate from the Windows 12 release, similar to how Windows 10 version 21H2 co-existed with Windows 11 21H2. Lastly, it is possible that "24H2" could simply be an error.

If you are wondering what DMSA is, Microsoft announced the new feature this week. You can watch its video on the Windows IT Pro YouTube channel. The full announcement can be viewed here.