Ultrabooks with Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 OS will reach market next year, and the OS could help propel demand for the devices, an Intel executive said this week.

More than 60 ultrabook designs could become available next year and “11 or so designs” will be unveiled by the end of this year, said Tom Kilroy, senior vice president and general manager of worldwide sales at Intel, in an interview following the company’s third quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

Windows 8 could help drive up ultrabook demand in the second half of next year during the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, Kilroy said.

In addition to Windows 8, ultrabooks will have the next-generation of Core processors based on the Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, which will have performance and graphics improvements, Kilroy said. Some four of 10 laptops sold by the end of next year will be ultrabooks, he said.

“Judging by the excitement, that’s a realistic goal,” Kilroy said.

Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment on when Windows 8 would be released. Microsoft released a developer preview of Windows 8 last month and a beta release is up next, said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, during a speech last week at Dell World.

Ultrabooks are being promoted by Intel as a new category of thin-and-light laptops with tablet features such as always-on and always-connected capabilities. The ultrabook category was introduced midyear to regenerate interest in PCs, which have been slumping due to the growing interest in tablets.