Microsoft's first real Windows event since 2024 is set for 7 October. It is not Windows 12.

The invitations went out on Wednesday. San Francisco, 7 October, 10am Pacific, which is 1pm on the US east coast and 6pm in the UK.

Satya Nadella will be on stage, along with Windows and Devices chief Pavan Davuluri and, more tellingly, Nvidia's Jensen Huang. Microsoft says the morning is about "how local AI will shape the next chapter of the PC", covering "the latest innovations across Windows, NVIDIA RTX Spark, Surface and the broader PC ecosystem". Local AI means work done by a chip inside the machine in front of you rather than on somebody else's server, which matters both for privacy and for whether a feature still works when your broadband does not. Huang's presence points at the Surface Laptop Ultra and the RTX Spark part expected to power it, neither of which has a price yet.

Worth saying plainly before the rumour mill starts: there is no Windows 12 here. Microsoft said back in May that no new version is planned, and nothing in the invite hints at one despite the Windows branding on it. What makes the date notable is simply that Microsoft has not held a proper Windows event since May 2024, so two years of accumulated speculation is about to be poured into one keynote.

Keep one thing in mind while you watch. A launch event exists to make the computer you already own feel old, and it is very good at that. Whether yours actually needs replacing is a separate question with a duller answer, usually involving free disk space, startup programs and a drive nobody has cleared out in a year. Tendvane's health score gives you that answer in about a minute, which is worth having before anyone sells you a laptop.