Microsoft announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that they are currently working on an update for the Windows 8.1 operating system, and are expecting it to be released in the spring. The announcement marked the first time they have officially made a comment about the update which has been rumored for a long time.

They announced that they will be making improvements to the user interface, especially for people who don’t have touch-enabled devices. Some of the changes you can expect are making the power, search, and settings features visible to users in the Windows 8 start screen. That makes it easier for people looking to change the settings on their computer of power off quickly from having to open a bunch of folders to do it. Users will also be able to right click to open and close apps, and they can also launch and switch them from the taskbar.

A lot of functions on Windows 8 are geared towards touch enabled devices, while Microsoft has promised not to degrade the touch experience, they do intend to make things easier for the mouse and keyboard users, and the Windows 8.1 update will make things easier for people without touchscreens.

The Windows 8.1 update will be more lenient when it comes to the hardware specifications, companies that are building computers and want to use Windows 8 will be able to use it on their less powerful machines, the machines have to have at least 1 GB RAM, and 16 GB of storage. The reduction in hardware specifications will lead to lower priced Windows operated tablets and computers.

There are other changes coming with the Windows 8 update that have been rumored, Microsoft Vice President Joe Belfiore refused to confirm or deny any of the rumors, and didn’t provide any additional information after he finished his announcement of the update.