The next scheduled major update to Windows 8.1 could be coming as early as next month, according to a rumor. Windows 8.1 Update 2 could arrive on the next “Patch Tuesday” on August 12th, a month suggested in earlier speculative reports, and though the exact contents of the update remain unknown to all but Microsoft, it is believed it could feature the return of the Start Menu.
Images from PCPortal spotted by Neowin specify the date of the update. While the image notes it will “include new features and functionality,” it is believed the update itself will be smaller than Windows 8.1 Update 1, and may have more of a focus on background improvements and bug fixes than items more apparent to end users.
The Start Menu is one of the bigger candidates to be included in the update, though some reports suggest it will be coming as part of a milestone update in Threshold, possibly Windows 9 or Windows 8.2, sometime next year. The most recent leak for the Start Menu showed it as having two distinct columns, with the left-hand column showing a typical Start Menu-style list of icons and folders, while the right-hand side held a collection of Windows 8 Tiles, including one Live Tile for the news.
