In Windows 9, the Charms panel disappears and virtual desktops appear.

Microsoft retreats even more from the ideas of Windows 8 in the next version of Windows, writes The Verge. Along with the return of the old Start menu and its own program windows, Microsoft plans to remove the Charms panel, which is used to access search, the start screen, devices, and settings. While Charms was useful on touch devices, the panel implementation for the mouse and keyboard was awkward and required users to move the cursor to the corners of the screen in order to open it carefully.

In the latest builds of Windows Threshold, which is expected to be called Windows 9, the Charms panel is no longer there. Metro style Windows 8 apps will get a title bar in which some Charms elements will be placed. The change is most likely due to the fact that Microsoft makes Windows 8 applications more flexible, allowing them to work in separate windows on the desktop in the same way as traditional applications. This should significantly improve mouse and keyboard controls for these applications — which Microsoft has consistently tried to fix in Windows 8 with various updates.

Microsoft also adds virtual desktops in Windows 9. Ubuntu and OS X have long supported this functionality, and Windows users had to use third-party alternatives for this. Virtual desktops allow Windows 9 users to create separate active desktops and switch between them using the taskbar button. This is another indication that Microsoft has decided to return its attention to desktop users.
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A preliminary version of Windows 9 is likely to be available later this year, which will allow companies and experienced users to test new features before the release, expected in spring 2015. Microsoft is also preparing a combined version of Windows Phone and Windows RT, which is internally called “Windows mobile” and in which the desktop will be removed, and the focus will be on touch-optimized applications.