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Windows 8 'release preview' due in early June

Microsoft sets a rough date for the release preview, generally the last stage before a product's final version. In this case, the final cut is expected in the fall.

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Windows 8 "release preview" coming in June.

Microsoft will unleash a "release preview" version of Windows 8 in the first week of June, the company announced this evening.

Microsoft President Steven Sinofsky made the announcement during an on-stage appearance at Japan's Windows 8 Dev Days and more broadly on the Build Windows 8 Twitter feed.

The release preview follows a beta and is the last stage before a product's final version. The beta, or consumer preview, of Windows 8, came out on February 29. A recent report suggests that the final version of Windows 8 will launch this October.

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Windows 8 will be a big test for Microsoft. It is intended to unify Microsoft's flagship OS on the desktop and tablet, is "the most integrated and most capable operating system Microsoft has ever put out," according to CNET Reviews Editor Seth Rosenblatt.

Windows 8 is tooled to run on on ARM chips as well as so-called x86 chips that power traditional PCs. Microsoft officials announced the Windows 8 SKU lineup last week and shared details about some of the features in the coming version.

Updated at 9:15 p.m. PT to correct month of release in the headline.