It was on August 27, 2013, and reached on October 17, 2013, about a year after the retail release of its predecessor. Visible enhancements include an improved , additional snap views, additional bundled apps, tighter formerly SkyDrive integration, , a -powered unified search system, restoration of a visible on the , and the ability to restore the previous behavior of opening the user's desktop on login instead of the Start screen. Despite these improvements, Windows 8. As of August 2018 , 7. A post- build of Windows 8, build 9364, was leaked in March 2013. Shortly afterward on March 26, 2013, corporate vice president of corporate communications Frank X. The theme was then echoed and debated in the computer press. Following a keynote presentation focusing on this version, the public beta of Windows 8. Build 9600 of Windows 8. Prior to the release of Windows 8. Shortly after its release, Windows RT 8. On October 21, 2013, Microsoft confirmed that the bug was limited to the tablet, and only affected 1 in 1000 installations. The company released recovery media and instructions which could be used to repair the device, and restored access to Windows RT 8. It was also found that changes to screen resolution handling on Windows 8. Update On April 8, 2014, Microsoft released the Windows 8. It was unveiled by Microsoft vice president at on February 23, 2014, and detailed in full at Microsoft's on April 2. Belfiore noted that the update would lower the minimum system requirements for Windows, so it can be installed on devices with as little as 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage. At the 2014 Build conference, during April, Microsoft's unveiled further user interface changes for Windows 8. Myerson stated that these changes would occur in a future update, but did not elaborate further. While it does not entirely unify Windows' app with that of Windows Phone, it will allow developers to synchronize data between versions of their app on each platform, and bundle access to Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox One versions of an app in a single purchase. Microsoft originally announced that users who did not install the update would not receive any other updates after May 13, 2014. However, meeting this deadline proved challenging: The ability to deploy Windows 8. Microsoft later fixed the issue but users continued to report that the update may fail to install. Microsoft's attempt to fix the problem was ineffective, to the point that Microsoft pushed the support deadline further to June 30, 2014. On 16 May, Microsoft released additional updates to fix a problem of in the update. Microsoft markets Windows 8. Retail and OEM copies of , and can be upgraded through free of charge. However, customers, or subscribers and users of must acquire standalone installation media for Windows 8. This requires a Windows 8. Upgrading through Windows Store requires each machine to download an upgrade package as big as 2—3. Unlike the traditional Windows service packs, the standalone installer, which could be downloaded once and installed as many times as needed, requires a Windows 8. On July 1, 2014, acknowledging difficulties users may have had through the Windows Store update method, Microsoft began to phase in an automatic download process for Windows 8. Windows 8 was re-issued at retail as Windows 8. Retail copies of Windows 8. Microsoft stated that the change was in response to customer feedback, and to allow more flexibility for users. Pricing for the retail copies of Windows 8. It is subsidized by Microsoft's Bing search engine, which is set as the default within and cannot be changed by OEMs. However, this restriction does not apply to end-users, who can still change the default search engine freely. It is otherwise and functionally identical to the base version of Windows 8. Main article: Many of the changes on Windows 8. User interface and desktop The Start screen received several enhancements on Windows 8. Additional customization options were also added, such as expanded color options, new backgrounds some of which incorporate animated elements , and the ability for the Start screen to use the desktop background instead. Applications are no longer added to the Start screen automatically when installed, and all applications now have colored tiles desktop programs were previously shown in a single color. The app snapping system has also been extended; up to four apps can be snapped onto a single display depending on screen size, apps can be snapped to fill half the screen, and can also be used on any display in a multi-monitor configuration. Apps can also launch other apps in a snapped view to display content; for example, the Mail app can open a photo attachment in a picture viewer snapped to another half of the screen. Improved support is also provided by apps for using devices in a portrait vertical orientation. The offers the ability to use a photo slideshow as its backdrop, and a shortcut to the Camera app by swiping up. The on-screen keyboard has an improved mechanism which displays multiple word suggestions, and allows users to select from them by sliding on the spacebar. The autocomplete dictionary is also automatically updated using data from , allowing it to recognize and suggest words relating to current trends and events. Similarly to Windows Phone, certain apps now display a narrow bar with three dots on it to indicate the presence of a pop-up menu accessible by swiping, clicking on the dots, or right-clicking. To assist users in learning the Windows 8 user interface, an interactive tutorial is also offered, along with a new Help + Tips app for additional information. In contrast, Windows RT 8. When a mouse is in use, the Desktop is shown on startup by default, the Start screen uses instead of a toolbar across the bottom of the screen for manipulating tiles, an autohiding with minimize and close buttons is displayed within apps at the top of the screen, the taskbar can display and pin apps alongside desktop programs and be accessed from within apps, and visible search and power buttons are added to the Start screen. In non-touch environments, the default and programs were changed back to and in lieu of the and Photos apps. Apps The suite of pre-loaded apps bundled with Windows 8 were changed in Windows 8. A number of additional stock apps were also added, including , , , , Reading List which can be used to collect and sync content from apps through OneDrive , Scan, and Help + Tips. For Windows RT users, Windows 8. However, it does not support data loss protection, , integration, or creating emails with information rights management. Windows Store is enabled by default within environments. Online services and functionality Windows 8. Files are automatically downloaded in the background when they are accessed from the user's OneDrive folder, unless they are marked to be available offline. By default, only file metadata and thumbnails are stored locally, and are used to give the appearance of a normal directory structure to provide backwards compatibility. The OneDrive app was updated to include a local. OneDrive use on Windows 8. A -based unified search system was added; it can analyze a user's search habits to return results featuring relevant local and online content. The messaging app from Windows 8 has been replaced by , which also allows users to accept calls directly from the lock screen. The Metro-style version of IE 11 also adds tab syncing, the ability to open an unlimited number of tabs, and Reading List integration. Due to Facebook Connect service changes, Facebook support is disabled in all bundled apps effective June 8, 2015. Security and hardware compatibility On compatible hardware, Windows 8. Encryption begins as soon as a user begins using the system; the recovery key is stored to either the user's Microsoft account or an login, allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all versions of Windows 8. Additionally, includes an which can scan network activity for signs of malware. For enterprise device management, Windows 8. The 64-bit version of Windows 8. These changes do not affect the 32-bit version of Windows 8. Hardware functionality Windows 8. In response to the increasing in displays, Windows 8. The update also removes the for the , meaning that the Windows Experience Index is no longer displayed. The version of the tool remains available on the system. Microsoft reportedly removed the graphical Windows Experience Index in order to promote the idea that all kinds of hardware run Windows 8 equally well. Beginning in October 2016, all future updates will become cumulative as with ; as such, downloading and installing updates that address individual problems would not be possible. Instead, upon installing Windows, users need only download a handful of updates as opposed to hundreds. However, he touted many of the major changes on Windows 8. Although praising the more flexible snapping system, he still pointed out flaws, such as an inability to maintain snap configurations in certain situations. Peter Bright of praised many of the improvements on Windows 8. Certain aspects of Windows 8. In his review of Windows 8. Market share According to Net Applications, the adoption rate in March 2015 for Windows 8. Enterprise adoption The examples and perspective in this section may not. December 2016 Steve Kleynhans from urged enterprises to avoid migrating to Windows 8. In his report, he indicated that as Windows 7 support will be provided until 2020, enterprises should directly migrate to after it is released. Furthermore, he recommended to downgrade devices installed with Windows 8. Retrieved January 8, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013. Archived from on 24 October 2013. Retrieved March 26, 2013. Retrieved March 29, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2014. The Economist Newspaper Limited. Retrieved January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2014. 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