Six years after the release of Windows 10 to the general public Microsoft has announced that its newest operating system is just about ready. Windows 11 was announced on June 24. While the new operating system doesn’t have an official release date yet, Microsoft did announce that it will be coming out this year. So what can users expect from the company’s newest version of Windows?
Perhaps the most obvious difference between 10 and 11 for the casual user will be the newly redesigned user experience. Windows 11 will feature some big changes to the start menu and taskbar, newly redesigned icons, as well as some big tweaks to the settings app and the ways in which you can snap different open windows together.
Of course, not everyone is excited about the idea of having to learn a brand-new operating system. And some have argued that the updates could have simply been applied to Windows 10. But Microsoft opted to turn them into a whole new version. As some that has suffered through the lows of Windows Vista and the highs of Windows 7, I am cautiously optimistic about Windows 11.
The biggest improvement in my eyes is the move to allow third-party apps in the Windows Store inside Windows 11. The Windows Store has been woefully underpopulated for the life of Windows 10 and this is a welcome change.
Unfortunately, unlike Windows 10 which was designed to work on older systems, 11 will not function on most older computers. Which means you’ll likely need to upgrade if your computer was built before 2019. This may turn some users off of the idea of upgrading.
If you’re curious about the official system requirements for Windows 11 the specs that Microsoft released are: Processor: 1 GHz processor or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or system on a chip, at least 4 GB or RAM, at least 64 GB of available storage, TPM version 2.0, UEFI firmware, Secure Boot capable, a graphics card compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver, an HD monitor that is 9” or greater and 8 bits per color channel.
That might sound like a lot of jargon to the average user, thankfully Microsoft normally includes a link for potential users to test their system before downloading a major update. Chances are there will be one included when Windows 11 releases.
For the more experienced user, Microsoft is releasing early “test” versions of Windows 11 right now for anyone that signs up for the Windows Preview Program. So if you’re looking to give it an early go, check out the preview program and sign up for their “dev channel” to get access.
Time will tell if Windows 11 is received warmly or coldly. I will remain cautiously optimistic until its actual release, but right now signs are pointing to a welcome upgrade to the current operating system.
Via swoknews.com
