If your existing Windows 10 PC is running Windows 10 20H1 or later and meets the minimum hardware specificationsit will be able to upgrade to Windows 11. The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized, but for most devices already in use today, we expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022. Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade will be offered to upgrade at the same time. To see if your PC is eligible to upgrade, refer to our knowledge base for a list of tested systems.
Once the upgrade rollout has started, you can check if it is ready for your device by going to Settings/Windows Updates. Similar to how end users are notified when updates are available in Windows 10, end users will see an indication in the notification areas of the taskbar in the bottom right, that the upgrade is available. More information on how that is presented will be available at a later date. Additional desktop notification options may be also be added at a later date. If your existing Windows 10 PC is running Windows 10 20H1 or later and meets the minimum hardware specifications it will be able to upgrade to Windows 11. To see if your PC is eligible to upgrade, refer to the specifications here.
Warren noted that he rarely used the Widgets panel or Microsoft Teams, citing that he preferred the weather display that later versions of Windows 10 offered, and didn't use Teams to communicate with his friends and family. He also acknowledged the expansion of Microsoft Store to include more "traditional" desktop applications. Overall, he concluded that "I wouldn't rush out to upgrade to Windows 11, but I also wouldn't avoid it. After all, Windows 11 still feels familiar and underneath all the UI changes, it's the same Windows we've had for decades." If your existing Windows 10 PC is running the most current version of Windows 10 and meets the minimum hardware specifications it will be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
Not all Windows 10 PCs that are eligible to upgrade to Windows 11 will be offered to upgrade at the same time. Cunningham concluded that "as I've dug into and learned its ins and outs for this review, I've warmed to it more", but argued that the OS was facing similar "public perception" issues to Windows Vista and Windows 8. The official, release version of Windows 11 is now available as a free upgrade to anyone who has Windows 10 and a PC that meets Microsoft's minimum hardware requirements. However, the Redmond software giant isn't pushing the upgrade to every eligible system at once.
Some users will be offered the option to upgrade in their Settings menu on or around the October 5th official launch date while others may be waiting until 2022. Original equipment manufacturers can still ship computers without a TPM 2.0 coprocessor upon Microsoft's approval. Some third-party software may refuse to run on unsupported configurations of Windows 11. Internet Explorer has been replaced by the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge as the default web browser, and Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell.
Microsoft also announced plans to allow more flexibility in software that can be distributed via Microsoft Store, and to support Android apps on Windows 11 . A redesigned user interface is present frequently throughout the operating system, building upon Fluent Design System; translucency, shadows, a new color palette, and rounded geometry are prevalent throughout the UI. A prevalent aspect of the design is an appearance known as "Mica", described as an "opaque, dynamic material that incorporates theme and desktop wallpaper to paint the background of long-lived windows such as apps and settings". It's not imperative that you upgrade your system to Windows in the next couple of weeks, or even months.
According to Microsoft's own lifecycle website, Windows 10 Home, Pro and Enterprise editions will continue to be supported by Microsoft until October 2025; your device will get essential security updates for another four years. For many people, that's about the time to upgrade to a newer device, one that will come with Windows 11 already installed. Microsoft commercially released Windows 11 on Oct. 4, and noted that it's a free upgrade for Windows 10 systems that meet the new operating system's minimum requirements. Individuals with Windows 10 systems that pass Windows 11's stringent hardware requirements will be offered the new OS via the Windows Update mechanism. It'll replace the underlying Windows 10 bits with Windows 11 bits via an automated "in-place upgrade" approach. However, it's possible for users to decline the upgrade and continue with Windows 10.
With its machine learning technology, Microsoft has determined further devices on which the Windows 11 update prompt should now appear automatically. The Redmond-based software company has not revealed any additional information on which exact PC configurations are included in this third group. However, manually triggering the Windows 11 update, which is how many tech enthusiasts probably installed Windows 11 in the past weeks, is no longer necessary on these PCs. Users can simply check the regular Windows Update application in order to verify whether the Windows 11 upgrade is ready to download on their respective device. Perhaps the most important thing to know about the release of Windows 11 is that we should expect it to change significantly over the next few years. I've been using beta versions of Windows 11 for a month in the lead-up to writing this review, and it seems like every few days there's a minor new feature or redesigned app to check out.
We may not see that feature fully realized in Windows until next year. In October 2019, Microsoft announced "Windows 10X", a future edition of Windows 10 designed exclusively for dual-touchscreen devices such as the then-upcoming Surface Neo. Legacy Windows applications would also be required to run in "containers" to ensure performance and power optimization. Microsoft stated that it planned to release Windows 10X devices by the end of 2020.
If the Microsoft Surface family of products isn't your style though, other brands like Dell, Asus and HP have all released pages online that specify what devices are Windows 11 ready. Note that many won't come with the new operating system installed, but as they all meet the minimum system requirements, you can simply buy the laptop or 2-in-1 as normal and then update it yourself. Most Windows 10 PCs currently being sold will be able to upgrade to New Windows.
For the PC to be able to upgrade to New Windows, it must meet the minimum hardware specifications and specific hardware is required for some features found here. The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalised but is scheduled to begin late in 2021 and continue into 2022. If you are having a brand new laptop or PC, then your system must be compatible with Windows 11 or even might come with it preinstalled. But issues may arise with the older versions of PCs, as its hardware might not match with the requirements of Windows 11. If your PC has a 7th gen or previous Intel CPU, then it is unsupported by the latest upgrade. Still, you can migrate to Windows 11, but the way is a little more complicated as you will need to download install files, then perform a clean install and then restore the program and data files.
Microsoft continues to test new features and improvements after Windows 11 was released. It only tests the latest version of Windows with members who participate in the Windows Insider Program in the Dev, Beta and Release Preview channels. The Beta and Release Preview channels offer admins and users a sneak peek at the end of the month of non-security updates that will arrive in the Patch Tuesday update, which falls on the second Tuesday of every month. Microsoft has yet released an official statement regarding the pricing of Windows, or whether it will be a free upgrade like the previous versions were free updates for license holders. However, as per an article by Android Authority, Windows 11 will most likely be a free upgrade for individuals using Windows 10 or Windows 8 with valid licenses. The Windows 11 free upgrade will be installed onto your computer/laptop just like any other Windows update, without any hassle or manual updation required.
The article by Android Authority also states that all of your personal user data and settings will be preserved in the update and will be applied to the Windows 11 update. Windows 11 download will be available once Microsoft released the update publicly. All HUAWEI PCs with Windows 10 currently being sold on HUAWEI Consumer BG website will be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
For the PC to be able to upgrade to Windows 11, it must meet the minimum hardware specifications and specific hardware is required for some features. The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized but is scheduled to begin late in 2021 and continue into 2022. You can refer to our knowledge base for a list of tested systems to determine if your device eligible to upgrade to Windows -11. Many PCs that are less than four years old will be able to upgrade to Windows 11.
They must be running 20H1 or later version of Windows 10 and meet the minimum hardware requirements to receive the Windows 11 upgrade. All Dell PCs with Windows 10 currently being sold on dell.com will be able to upgrade to Windows 11. At least 16GB of RAM The basic system requirements of Windows 11 differ significantly from Windows 10. Windows 11 only supports 64-bit systems such as those using an x86-64 or ARM64 processor; IA-32 processors are no longer supported.
Thus, Windows 11 is the first ever consumer version of Windows not to support 32-bit processors and 16-bit software . The minimum RAM and storage requirements were also increased; Windows 11 now requires at least 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The compatibility list includes the Intel Core i7-7820HQ, a seventh-generation processor used by the Surface Studio 2, although only on devices that shipped with DCH-based drivers. Windows 11 SE was announced on November 9, 2021, as an edition exclusively for low-end devices sold in the education market, and a successor to Windows 10 S. It is bundled with applications such as Microsoft Office for Microsoft 365, Minecraft Education Edition, and Flipgrid, while OneDrive is used to save files by default.
Windows 11 SE does not include Microsoft Store; third-party software is provisioned or installed by administrators. As part of the minimum system requirements, Windows 11 only runs on devices with a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 security coprocessor. According to Microsoft, the TPM 2.0 coprocessor is a "critical building block" for protection against firmware and hardware attacks.
In addition, Microsoft now requires devices with Windows 11 to include virtualization-based security , hypervisor-protected code integrity , and Secure Boot built-in and enabled by default. The operating system also features hardware-enforced stack protection for supported Intel and AMD processors for protection against zero-day exploits. To see if your PC is eligible to upgrade, refer to our supported computer lists. Tech enthusiasts have been waiting for a long time for the Windows 11 update. All the previous Windows versions were usually released with a gap of around 3 years, so the 6 years between Windows 10 and 11 was a long wait.
However, Windows 10 was unlike previous Windows updates and Microsoft provided frequent large patches and updates to Windows 10 to keep it fresh and relevant. As per an announcement by Microsoft, Windows 11 be officially launched on June 24, 2021, about a week from now. While June 24 has been declared as the official launch date, it is unclear when the update will be made available for Windows users for download. Microsoft says the upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized, but for most devices already in use today, they expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022. The taskbar's buttons are center-aligned by default, and it is permanently pinned to the bottom edge of the screen; it cannot be moved to the top, left, or right edges of the screen as in previous versions of Windows. The "Widgets" button on the taskbar displays a panel with Microsoft Start, a news aggregator with personalized stories and content (expanding upon the "news and interests" panel introduced in later builds of Windows 10).
Microsoft Teams is similarly integrated with the taskbar, with a pop-up showing a list of recent conversations. Citing security considerations, the system requirements for Windows 11 were increased over Windows 10. While the OS can be installed on unsupported processors, Microsoft does not guarantee the availability of updates. Windows 11 also drops support for 32-bit x86 CPUs and devices which use BIOS firmware. Microsoft will let you know when Windows 11 is ready for your system via the Windows Update Settings page or when you check for updates. The company expects to offer the upgrade to all eligible Windows 10 devices by mid-2022.
Next, Microsoft says it will look at hardware eligibility, reliability metrics and other factors on existing Windows 10 devices to determine when to offer the latest OS through Windows Update. It's a similar approach to how the company has handled Windows 10 feature updates over the years. You can find out whether your device is compatible using the PC Health Check app. The short answer is no, Microsoft isn't going to force anyone to upgrade to Windows 11. Starting with Windows 10 version 1903, the Redmond firm stopped forcing people to install feature updates.
This came after a disastrous Windows 10 version 1809 that actually deleted some users' files. Microsoft said the launch will be "phased and measured," with new eligible devices getting the upgrade first and the rest getting offered the free upgrade sometime between October and mid-2022. Microsoft is making sure that those who purchase a new laptop prior to Windows 11 being pre-installed by manufacturers will be able to update first. Windows Widgets are back in Windows 11, accessible via the dock, with Microsoft touting AI-powered dynamic features that enable widgets, as with the Start menu, to change depending on the apps you're using and the time of day.
On the touchscreen, you can slide from the left on the desktop to have widgets appear. These feel like features Microsoft will inevitably add back in over the coming months, which does highlight how meager an upgrade Windows 11 feels on launch day. And we're likely to see some other problems pop up as more people start using Windows 11, like the file explorer memory leak. Aside from the new aesthetic, the few big features Microsoft talked about in its presentation this summer—especially the ones to do with gaming—just aren't here yet. Once you've chosen a method for your upgrade, be sure to first look over our Windows 11 upgrade checklist to get all your ducks in a row.
It'll make it easier to zip through the process—and recover faster if something happens to go awry. And while you're waiting for the installation to complete, you can check out our Windows 11 review as well as six new features you should try after you make the jump. Upgrades to Windows 11 will begin to roll out late in 2021 and continue into 2022.
During this time, we will be doing some behind the scenes testing and validating for your specific PC. Windows Update will provide an indication if and when your PC is eligible. There is a way to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, but we wouldn't recommend it. Although Microsoft hasn't confirmed it, the company has heavily implied that unsupported users won't receive critical security updates. If you still want to install, you can do so using the Media Creation Tool, which bypasses hardware checks.
You should have no concerns when it comes to buying a Windows 10 laptop or PC now, provided it's compatible with Windows 11. As GSMArena reports, Microsoft now offers users the choice to install Windows 11 when they're setting up an eligible Windows 10 device for the first time. Microsoft has recently announced the next major Windows update - Windows 11. The current Windows 10 version has been running over the past 6 years since its launch. Tech enthusiasts had been waiting for a long time for any updates on the upcoming Windows version. Now that Microsoft has made the official announcement, many people are wondering whether the upcoming Windows update will be free or will people have to pay for the license.
Read on to know more about the upcoming Windows 11 features and is Windows 11 free. Once you're up and running on Windows 11, the first thing you need to do is head to the Microsoft Store app and check for updates to ensure that you have the latest versions of all the pre-installed Windows 11 apps. Once that's done, you should also head to Windows Update in the new Settings app and check for updates there to ensure you have the latest drivers designed for Windows 11. Windows 11 is now generally available as an update for eligible Windows 10 PCs.
Microsoft is taking a measured and phased approach to the rollout, however, meaning not everybody will be offered the update immediately. When your PC is ready, a big popup will appear in Windows Update that will allow you to initiate the download and install process, and Windows will do the rest. Note that Windows 11 will only be a 64-bit release and won't come in a 32-bit flavor. That's fair since 32-bit PCs are not sold anymore anyway and 64-bit editions can run 32-bit applications just fine. Of course, Windows 11 supports System on a Chip which means Windows 10 on ARM devices will get the upgrade as long as they meet other criteria.
The above screenshot makes it clear that Surface Pro X running Windows 10 on ARM is eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade. Windows 11 will warn you that your PC isn't up to snuff, but will otherwise let you carry on your merry way. Task View, a feature introduced in Windows 10, features a refreshed design, and supports giving separate wallpapers to each virtual desktop. When a display is disconnected in a multi-monitor configuration, the windows that were previously on that display will be minimized rather than automatically moved to the main display. If the same display is reconnected, the windows are restored to their prior location. Windows 11, the first major Windows release since 2015, builds upon its predecessor by revamping the user interface to follow Microsoft's new Fluent Design guidelines.
The redesign, which focuses on ease of use and flexibility, comes alongside new productivity and social features and updates to security and accessibility, addressing some of the deficiencies of Windows 10. On August 31, 2021, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 was to be released on October 5, 2021. The release would be phased, with newer eligible devices to be offered the upgrade first.
