Home windows 11 is Microsoft’s newest desktop working system. Few have been predicting its arrival simply a few years in the past, with Home windows 10 beforehand described as “the final model of Home windows”.
However Microsoft’s angle appeared to alter through the pandemic, which left individuals all over the world counting on its software program for the whole lot from distant working to protecting in contact with family and friends. A few of these tendencies are extra everlasting, so the corporate determined it was time for one thing new.
Enter Home windows 11. The brand new OS represents a big design shift, aiming to simplify the person expertise and cut back muddle. Many parts are impressed by Home windows 10X, the cancelled Home windows 10 spin-off designed for touchscreen units.
Each appropriate laptop computer may have been provided a free improve, however you don’t must replace till Home windows 10 assist ends in 2025. However virtually each laptop computer that’s not a Mac or Chromebook runs Home windows 11 as of late.
This full information goals to reply each query you may need concerning the OS, linking out to our intensive Home windows 11 protection.
What’s Home windows 11 like?
Clearly eager to keep away from upsetting tens of millions by making radical modifications (because it in the end did with Home windows 8), Microsoft has saved the identical primary format, albeit with a big redesign. You’ll discover rounded corners all over the place you look and a brand new centrally positioned Begin Menu, though you may return the latter to the aspect in the event you’d want.
There’s a brand new widgets panel which might present the climate, shares, information and different issues – seemingly changing the previous Begin Menu’s dwell tiles – and improved grouping and snapping of open Home windows so you may focus extra simply on what you’re attempting to do.
Home windows 11 on tablets is way improved because of the introduction of gestures and a brand new on-screen keyboard that rather more just like the one in your cellphone. You’ll be able to even set up and use Android apps by way of the Amazon Appstore, though a workaround helps you to use the Google Play Retailer as a substitute.
Nevertheless, whereas there are many visible modifications, Home windows 11 must be a simple transition from Home windows 10 for most individuals.
When did Home windows 11 come out?
- Preliminary launch date: 5 October 2021
- Greatest replace to this point (22H2): 20 September 2022
Home windows 11 was formally launched on 5 October 2021. However actually, that was simply the date that OEMs (unique gear producers) might start to launch Home windows 11 {hardware}.
The rollout was gradual, however all appropriate units ought to have been provided the choice to improve from Home windows 10. If that’s not the case for some cause, you may obtain Home windows 11 manually or set up it utilizing a USB.
New options have been added regularly, however probably the most vital new options to this point arrived on 20 September 2022. That’s when the massive 22H2 replace, earlier than much more new includes a month later.
How a lot does Home windows 11 value?
- Free improve for eligible PCs
- New {hardware} pricing depending on producer
- USB and obtain hyperlink variations out there
Pricing was at all times more likely to be one of many large questions, however the excellent news is that it’s free for eligible PCs. It will probably proceed for nonetheless lengthy Home windows 11 is supported.
Nevertheless, it’s not so simple as all Home windows 10 units getting Home windows 11. As is defined under, Microsoft has up to date the {hardware} necessities for its new OS.
Naturally, upgrading from Home windows 10 isn’t the one technique to get Home windows 11. Loads of new laptops and PCs are already operating the working system out of the field, with loads extra on the best way. Thus far, it doesn’t seem to be having Home windows 11 pre-installed has affected the asking worth.
Nevertheless, you can even now purchase Home windows 11 as a standalone working system. The simplest methodology is by way of a obtain hyperlink, which will probably be despatched to you when you full the acquisition:
You should purchase it pre-loaded on a USB stick in the event you’d want – that is presently out there for Home windows 11 Residence ($139/£115.99), however not Professional. At Amazon UK, you may even get a disc model for £99.
Wasn’t Home windows 10 the final ever model of Home windows?
That’s what Microsoft mentioned when it introduced Home windows 10, sure. However apparently it modified its thoughts about that. The corporate might have rolled out these modifications in a Home windows 10 replace, but it surely selected to not refer again to this assertion through the launch occasion and is perhaps hoping its clients have brief reminiscences.
Curiously, Microsoft did ultimately reference this at its April 2022 hybrid work occasion. Nevertheless, the corporate described the pandemic as the important thing driver of this variation in technique, including that “how, when and the place we work basically modified in a single day”.
However after spending a couple of months with Home windows 11, it’s clear not a lot has actually modified below the floor.
Will my present PC or laptop computer run Home windows 11?
The minimal {hardware} necessities for Home windows 11 are as follows:
- 1GHz dual-core processor
- 4GB RAM
- 64GB of storage
- UEFI, Safe Boot succesful
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0
- Graphics card appropriate with DirectX 12
- Show bigger than 9in with 720p or greater decision
- Microsoft account + web connection
Undecided in case your gadget is appropriate? Microsoft has a free ‘PC Well being Verify’ app, designed that will help you just do that. It’s out there to obtain from the underside of the most important Home windows 11 web page.
That storage requirement is perhaps SSD-only from 2023, if information storage analysts Trendfocus (by way of Tom’s {Hardware}) are to be believed. Nevertheless, current Home windows 11 units utilizing HDDs or eMMC storage aren’t anticipated to be affected.
For extra info, try our separate information: Will my PC run Home windows 11?
Microsoft doesn’t encourage it, however there’s nonetheless a technique to set up Home windows 11 on unsupported PCs. Certainly, you’ll most likely see messages inside Settings and on the desktop warning you that your gadget isn’t appropriate. It doesn’t appear to have an effect on efficiency and app compatibility, although.
For any subsequent Home windows 11 updates, no modifications to gadget compatibility are anticipated.
Home windows 11 trailer
When you have a spare couple of minutes, it’s price watching this official introduction video to get a way of what Home windows 11 is all about:
What new options does Home windows 11 have?
There are too many to enter numerous element right here, however listed here are the primary ones you might want to learn about.
First, there’s a big visible overhaul. Home windows 10 has maintained an analogous feel and appear all through its lifespan, however that’s all modified with Home windows 11.
A brand new taskbar strikes icons to the centre, though this could simply be reverted to a extra conventional format. What can’t be modified is a number of the performance Microsoft eliminated in comparison with the Home windows 10 model, however Microsoft is slowly including again most of those options.
The brand-new Begin Menu isn’t notably missing, though its brand-new design actually isn’t for everybody. In actual fact, this aesthetic is just like what Microsoft teased for the now-cancelled Home windows 10X. Right here’s what it appears to be like like with darkish mode enabled:
It includes a grid of customisable ‘Pinned’ icons, with separate ‘All apps’ part for the whole lot else you have got put in. The ‘Really useful’ heading under shows lately used information, apps and folders – together with from cloud providers corresponding to OneDrive and Microsoft 365 – enabling you to rapidly decide up the place you left off, even in the event you final used a distinct gadget.
Nevertheless, many individuals have been disillusioned by this, particularly the shortage of customisation capability. Nevertheless, Microsoft has since added the flexibility to decide on the break up between Pinned and Really useful sections. The official screenshots under provide you with an concept the way it appears to be like:
One new characteristic that has gone down effectively is the brand new Snap Layouts multitasking performance. Hovering over the maximise button permits you to select the association of apps on the display, as you may see under.
Widgets haven’t been a serious characteristic of current variations of Home windows, however that’s modified now. The panel slides in from the left, however might be customised to fill the entire display in the event you’d want. It’s designed for fast glances at vital info with out distracting you from what you have been doing earlier than you opened it.
Widgets for the climate and shares are additionally constructed into the taskbar, however these can now be used to set off notifications on the taskbar. As The Verge reviews, the static icons will now get replaced with dwell animations. Meaning you’ll get a extra apparent alert that there’s a thunderstorm or your favorite shares are buying and selling downwards for instance. This may very well be distracting for some individuals, however there’s no apparent technique to flip it off because it stands. Microsoft explains extra about Widgets in a assist article.
Elsewhere, Microsoft Groups’ chat perform is now instantly built-in into Home windows 11, with future updates permitting you to share home windows and toggle mute instantly from the taskbar:
The Groups integration extends to the Edge browser, that means particular person tabs now present up inside Job Supervisor. Edge tabs on the taskbar will even embrace the location, icon and subject identify, though that is changed by a generic icon throughout non-public searching classes.
Many inventory apps have been redesigned, together with File Explorer and the Microsoft Retailer. The latter consists of Android app assist by way of the Amazon Appstore, however you can even use the Epic Video games Retailer in the event you’d want. There’s no indication the Google Play Retailer will probably be added to Home windows 11, however
a workaround permits you to just do that.
In case you’d relatively keep on with official providers, Google can be engaged on a devoted Play Retailer Video games app. That is anticipated to be appropriate with Home windows 11 and Home windows 10 and launched someday earlier than the tip of 2022.
Home windows 11 additionally has a brand new Motion Middle, splitting Fast Settings, Notifications and a music controller into separate sections. Its design is impressed by Home windows 10X, making it simple to navigate utilizing touchpad, mouse, pen or finger.
Loads of inventory apps have additionally been redesigned to be extra in line with Home windows 11’s new design. They embrace Calculator, Clock, Notepad, Media Participant and File Explorer, with the latter proven under:
Home windows 11 is only one a part of Microsoft’s prioritisation of accessibility. The Floor Adaptive Package makes any laptop computer simpler to make use of, whereas the brand new Adaptive Equipment assist people who find themselves unable to make use of a conventional mouse and keyboard. Mixed, these instruments could make a giant distinction.
The Microsoft Groups integration has acquired combined evaluations, but it surely additionally applies to the Edge browser. It means particular person tabs now present up inside Job Supervisor, with GPU and crash reviews proven too. Tabs on the taskbar will even embrace the location, icon and subject identify, though that is changed by a generic icon throughout non-public searching classes.
Within the Job Supervisor, variations out there since February 2022 assist an ‘Eco mode’. This can be utilized to allocate extra assets to particular apps by setting the precedence of others to ‘low’. This stops resource-intensive apps from consuming an excessive amount of of the CPU or GPU energy, which ought to assist enhance efficiency and battery life.
Elsewhere, Home windows 11’s Dynamic Refresh Price characteristic is now out there. On appropriate units, this enables panels above 60Hz to robotically modify their refresh fee relying on what you’re doing. It prevents energy from being wasted unnecessarily.
Microsoft made it a lot more durable to alter the default browser when it launched Home windows 11, however the firm principally reversed that call in March 2022. Beginning with model KB50011563, there’ll be an possibility inside Settings to set a browser as your default for HTTP, HTTPS, .HTML and .HTM information. Nevertheless, you’ll nonetheless want to alter the place PDFs open individually.
The primary vital replace for Home windows 11 arrived in February 2022, including a number of new options. They embrace redesigned Notepad and Media Participant apps, new taskbar performance and a public preview of native Android app assist. Nevertheless, the latter requires a minimum of 8GB of RAM and an SSD – that’s stricter than Home windows 11 itself.
Then, in September 2022, Microsoft formally launched Home windows 11’s largest replace to this point. Identified merely because the ‘2022 Replace’, it provides new performance to the Begin menu, Widgets panel and the taskbar. There’s additionally a brand new Stay Captions accessibility characteristic, higher multitasking by way of Snap Layouts and new touchscreen gestures. However there are loads extra options that it’s price being conscious of – be taught extra in our full information to the 2022 Replace.
In October 2022, much more new options have been added. The long-awaited introduction of tabs in File Explorer was the spotlight, however there are additionally enhancements to the taskbar and new ‘Urged Actions’ while you spotlight related textual content.
Typically, Home windows and Apple units don’t play properly collectively, however Microsoft is taking steps to enhance it. In November 2022, the corporate confirmed that Home windows 11’s Pictures app will supply direct integration with iCloud Pictures – that means all the pictures out of your iPhone are simply accessible.
Microsoft
It now appears to be like like Home windows 11 will probably be getting a 23H2 characteristic replace in late 2023 – it beforehand wasn’t clear. However Zac Bowden at Home windows Central says 23H2 “received’t be a serious platform launch, with Microsoft shifting to ‘Second’ updates a number of occasions a yr.
Bowden believes we’ll see Second 2 in February/March, Second 3 in Could/June and Second 4 (23H2) in September/October.
When it comes to new options, the next are all anticipated in Second 2:
- Pill-mode Taskbar
- System Tray updates
- Extra search bar choices
- Power suggestions in Settings
- Search in Job Supervisor
- Full-screen widgets panel
- Studio Results in Fast Settings
- Voice Entry enhancements
Second 3 and past is much less clear as of December 2022, however Bowden expects modifications to the Home windows Search UI and additional updates to inventory apps and packages. We’ll additionally most likely see new designs for many dialog packing containers and pop-ups to deliver them in keeping with the remainder of Home windows 11.
Trying additional forward, Home windows 12 could also be launched as quickly as 2024.
We mentioned Home windows 11 at launch on episode 86 of Quick Cost, our weekly podcast:
Tech Advisor’s information to Home windows 11
We have now loads of Home windows 11 protection on the location, answering all the important thing questions on Microsoft’s new working system.
The fundamentals
Tutorials
Information
- Why you won’t have the ability to set up Home windows 11’s 22H2 replace proper now
- Home windows 11 provides tabs to the File Explorer
- Don’t set up Home windows 11’s 22H2 replace in case you have an Nvidia GPU
- No, your Home windows gadget most likely doesn’t have a virus
- Home windows 11’s newest replace fixes a severe efficiency bug
- Home windows 11’s July safety replace breaks the Begin menu
- Microsoft releases emergency safety updates for Home windows 10 and 11
- Home windows updates can break Wi-Fi, however it’s best to nonetheless set up them
- Microsoft’s newest Home windows patches repair a serious safety flaw
- A yr after it was introduced, Home windows 11 adoption stays gradual
- Home windows 11 is accessible on unsupported PCs, however you shouldn’t obtain it
- Home windows 11’s newest replace is inflicting but extra points
- Home windows 11’s newest bug is stopping updates from putting in
- Microsoft reveals a number of recent options coming to Home windows 11
- Home windows 11’s subsequent replace reduces Blue Display of Dying crashes
- Home windows 11 set for brand new Search expertise and File Explorer tabs
- Home windows 11’s newest replace hides the Begin menu, but it surely’s not a bug
- Home windows 11 is now put in on virtually 20% of all Home windows units
- Home windows 11’s Android apps want a minimum of 8GB RAM and an SSD
- Microsoft is testing much more new Home windows 11 options
- Home windows 11’s first large replace brings Android apps to everybody
- Home windows 11’s February replace is already inflicting points
- Home windows 11 will increase market share by 3.5% in only a month
- Home windows 11 set for brand new pill performance and wallpaper stickers
- Microsoft is altering its method to new Home windows 11 options
- Microsoft releases replace to repair Home windows 11 and 10 VPN points
- A key Home windows 11 safety characteristic is inflicting AMD efficiency points
- Home windows now has 1.4 billion customers, however what number of are on Home windows 11?
- Google Play Retailer video games are coming to Home windows in 2022
- Defective Intel audio drivers are inflicting Home windows 11 to crash
- Home windows 11’s native Android app assist is now out there to strive
- Microsoft releases patch for AMD-related Home windows 11 efficiency points
- Microsoft is shifting Home windows 11 to annual characteristic updates
- Home windows 11 is right here, however not a lot has actually modified
- Why Home windows 11 feels an excessive amount of like a Home windows 10 characteristic replace
- Why Home windows 11 is quicker than Home windows 10, in response to Microsoft
- Home windows 11 arrives on 5 October, however with out Android app assist
- Home windows 11’s new method to the Microsoft Retailer has one main drawback
- Home windows 11 options you will have missed
- Home windows 10 options lacking in Home windows 11
- Home windows 11 will ship operating darkish mode by default
- Home windows 11 is accessible in seven completely different variations
- Home windows 11’s new Microsoft Retailer has made a promising begin
- Home windows 11 Residence doesn’t work with no Microsoft account
- One UI Watch, Snapdragon 888+ & Android on Home windows 11 | Quick Cost ep. 72
- Why Home windows 11 feels an excessive amount of like a Home windows 10 characteristic replace
Look out for many extra Home windows 11 protection like this over within the coming weeks and months.
