Windows 9 may be approaching a 2014 release date rather than a 2015 springtime release, as previously rumored.

In a leaked file reported by PCAdvisor, the Windows 9 OS is scheduled for release within "Q2-Q3 2015" but analysts are optimistic that a fall 2014 release date may be more beneficial for Microsoft.

Rumors further suggest that the upcoming Microsoft OS will be offered as a free upgrade for users who are stuck with older Windows platforms, in particular Windows 8.1 users.

Mary Jo Foley, a veteran tech reporter of all things Microsoft, suggests that the OS giant just might allow users to upgrade to the new OS as an incentive:

"There are rumors Microsoft is planning to offer Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 users some kind of deal -- possibly even a free upgrade to Windows 9 -- in order to get them to move to the latest Windows version once it's out next year," she writes on ZDNet.com

While the official release date of Windows Threshold, another name by which Windows 9 goes, is still unverified, Foley reports, with near certainty, that the upcoming OS will forego Windows 8's buggy nature and become more seamless.

The 'Start' menu, for example, will return to PC's in Windows 9. "Since Microsoft officials decided earlier this year to make the Mini Start Menu part of Threshold instead of [Windows 8.1] Update 2, there's not a whole lot of new features of note coming in Update 2," she further states.

While the web is awash with Windows 9 rumors, Microsoft has stayed mum on developments relating to its upcoming OS.