Microsoft announced that it will release Windows 8.1, an update to Windows 8 Code named “Blue” in the month of June during the BULD conference. Windows chief, Julie Larson-Green confirmed the news yesterday speaking at the Wired Business Conference. Developers will receive a copy of the Windows Blue at the BUILD conference. On a related note, Microsoft announced yesterday that it sold 100 million licenses of Windows 8 up from 60 million licenses it sold till January.
Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue is rumored to include several important fixes like start button, metro file explorer, boot to desktop etc. Not only the developers at the event but also the public will get a peak of the Windows 8.1 at the end of June. While the preview is expected at the end of June, the final version of the Windows 8.1 will be available by the end of the year, but an exact date of the release is not yet known.
Windows 8.1 will be made available to the public through Windows Store as an upgrade, this is quite a departure from the traditional way of pushing the updates through Windows Update.
Via Windows Blog