Microsoft is working on something new, but it’s probably not Windows 12

By Monica J. White Published March 25, 2025

Microsoft appears to be working on a new major update, but if you’re hoping for Windows 12, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The company has confirmed that it’s testing new content via the Insider program in the Dev Channel, and those changes might lead to a patch that’s set to be released later this year. However, we’re most likely looking at the successor to the current 24H2 build — namely Windows 11 25H2 — and not a whole new operating system.

This was first spotted by Windows Central. The publication cites its own sources as it claims that Microsoft is backporting some platform changes to offer better support for Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon X2 chip. Those changes will allow devices that house that chip to run Germanium-based Windows 11. Germanium refers to the platform release that the current Windows 11 build is built on, and it looks like the upcoming 25H2 build might also be based on Germanium — but nothing is fully clear at this point.

The switch to Germanium was made with Arm-based chips in mind, as well as to boost performance and improve overall security of Windows 11. This is why Microsoft might be sticking to Germanium. It’s already faced with the herculean task of making more people switch to Windows 11 in the first place, so bigger shake-ups might not be in the cards right now.

Even if you’re not running an Arm-based PC, sticking to Germanium could be good news. As the platform’s had some time to settle down, a lot of the major bugs have been ironed out. Switching to an all-new platform yet again could cause quite the commotion.

What does this mean for end users? Right now, not a whole not. It’ll be months before we see the new patch start rolling out, but the fact that Microsoft is now working to set the stage for build 25H2 (presumably) means that the development is chugging along just fine.