He also acknowledged the expansion of Microsoft Store to include more "traditional" desktop applications. Apart from a fresh coat of paint and a few features, the operating system maintains most of the core functionality of Windows 10. Visually, Windows now has rounded corners, and the taskbar icons and the start menu have moved to the centre.
One of the most jarring experiences for me has been getting used to the centred Start Menu. While the new start menu looks nice with pinned apps on the top and recent files below it, the sporadic movement of the Start button is a chore. In Windows 10 and previous versions of Windows, the left aligned start menu has been in the same spot as always.
In Windows 11, the menu is centred, and the addition of new icons tends to push icons away from each other on the centred plane. I was forced to look at the taskbar and understand where the icon moved to click on it. It would have been a better design decision to leave the start button to the left while only moving application icons to the centre. Fortunately, users can fix this problem by realigning all icons to the left. While Windows 11 is free for many Windows 10 users, there is a rite of passage for this version of Windows. Not all desktops and laptops may be able to use Windows 11, since the update comes with system requirements that might lock many Nepali systems out of the update.
More recent laptops would most likely have this TPM module, but many older and custom-made computers might not. Computers running older CPUs, mainly Intel 7th Generation and older, are locked out of the update, while Windows 11, at least in the early phases, did not play well with AMD CPUs due to a scheduler issue. Many workarounds for these requirements aren't official and may lock you out of future updates. Microsoft has also removed local user profiles for Windows 11 Home users, forcing people to connect to an online Microsoft account, which is for data collection and telemetry in all intents and purposes. Windows 11 might be free, but you will be paying for it in data. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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 . Windows 11 has higher technical requirements than Windows 10, is possible to install Windows 11 on devices that don't meet the minimum requirements. Upgrading unsupported hardware to Windows 11 will require you to install the update manually using an ISO. There is a different set of minimum minimum requirements your PC will have to meet including 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage space, and two-core 64-bit 1 GHz processor. We'll click on the 'download and install' button in Windows Update, and an hour or so later we'll have a different UI with a centre aligned taskbar, a few extra features...
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. Windows 11 is a free upgrade, but the minimum system requirements are quite a bit higher than ever before. Microsoft calls Windows 11 the most secure Windows yet, and that tag comes at the cost of backward compatibility.
Trusted Platform Module 2.0, aka TPM 2.0, is one of those requirements. There are ways to manually install Windows 11 on incompatible systems, but those include giving up on official future updates via Windows Update and/or modifying the Windows 11 ISO file to remove security checks. 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. Windows 11 will initially be available for testing purposes to Windows Insider members starting next week.
It will also be available as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users later this year and come pre-installed on new PCs. Microsoft has also released the PC Health Check app for people to check if their Windows 10 PC is upgradable. It was speculated that the company would also bring the new operating system to Windows 7 and Windows 8 machines. However, Microsoft confirmed to Gadgets 360 that users with a Windows 7 PC that meets the minimum specifications could be upgraded to Windows 11 after purchasing a Windows 10 license.
It's not imperative that you upgrade your system to Windows in the next couple of weeks, or even months. For many people, that's about the time to upgrade to a newer device, one that will come with Windows 11 already installed. Microsoft makes you accept that the company can stop providing updates, and security patches to Windows 11 on these devices. While Microsoft is unlikely to do that in practice, it's still better to be on the safer side.
Also, you're likely to run into driver incompatibility issues on unsupported devices. Especially, if your computer is running hardware that is more than 5-6 years old. 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. 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. 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. For both types of upgrades, head to Microsoft's Windows 11 download page. To perform an in-place upgrade, use the Windows 11 Installation Assistant. For a clean install, you must create a bootable USB drive or DVD disc.
Windows users should first try the Media Creation Tool for this process, since it does all the work for you. Mac and Linux users will have to flash or burn the ISO file for Windows 11 to a drive or disc, respectively. You can check out our guide on how to upgrade to Windows 11 for more details on each of these methods. There are a few risks that come along with not updating to Windows 11, these include losing out on the latest features, security updates, patches, and compatibility with upcoming security features and applications. Many games that use Anti-cheat tools also have started relying on Windows 11 security features to provide fair gameplay. While these games still work on Windows 10, it is only a matter of time before Windows 11 ends up becoming a requirement.
If you have a Windows 10 laptop or desktop, chances are your device will get Windows 11 for free. Microsoft will distribute Windows 11 the same way it did with Windows 10 that was launched five years back. However, your PC needs to meet minimum hardware requirements which include 4GB of RAM, 64GB of free storage space and a 64-bit processor. Windows 11 will be provided as a free update to all eligible devices that are currently running Windows 10.
Eligibility for automatic upgrade is based on certain minimum hardware requirements. 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.
Microsoft has made it abundantly clear that it wants to limit Windows 11 installations to certain PCs with appropriate hardware security features. Unfortunately, those requirements block many older, yet still useable, PCs from the Windows 11 upgrade. The implication is that users will need to buy new hardware to accommodate Windows 11 sooner rather than later. The PC Health Check app is an official tool to tell you if your computer can run Windows 11. If you have joined Windows Insider Program, you can use the PC Health Check Insider preview version to check your device.
This tool will be re-release before the official release of Windows 11 this fall. One of the most notable changes, which we already saw in a recently leaked ISO, that Windows 11 brings to the users currently running Windows 10 is the new interface. It starts with a fresh setup screen and continues to give a fresh look and feel across all core Windows elements.
There are rounded corners on menus and windows that look similar to the recent iPadOS release. You'll also see the Start menu at the centre that is aimed at providing a modern experience. Windows 11 isn't perfect; it has its kinks and bugs but should you consider updating regardless of the problems? Windows 11 brings too little of an update to the table for a major generation upgrade.
Most of the system's core functionality remains the same, with only a fresh coat of paint and a few gimmicks like the widget panel. While the system does offer a better and more unified design language, Windows 11 could have easily passed as a Windows 10 update. The arbitrary system requirement limitations, in addition to very similar performance metrics to its predecessor, make it a very difficult recommendation. The OS also suffers from a lot more bugs that the company had already fixed for Windows 10. All the new features in Windows 11 feels like service updates to Windows 10.
Windows 11 is a difficult recommendation in its current state, and with Windows 10's continued support till 2025, there is very little incentive to update. Instead of a longer flyout, the new menu has a broader feel with a search bar at the top, followed by pinned apps and recent files. The new start menu looks fresh and nice; pinned applications and recent files follow a nice long search bar on the top. Although the simplified start menu is a visual upgrade to Windows 10, it is far more simplistic with no live tiles or dynamic content. Even the context menu for the taskbar has been simplified as right-clicking the bar only yields one result with the removal of essential options like the task manager or toolbars.
Oh, and you can't move the taskbar at all in Windows 11—at the bottom is the only option. For new users, Windows 11 will seem like a good option with the new design. You get rounded corners, a departure from the sharp edges we've seen in Windows for a long time.
The Start Menu is now cleaner, featuring pinned apps and a recommended tab that shows you files based on your recent usage. The desktop more or less stays the same, but the right-click menu gets a simplified look, with the most common options like cut, copy, paste, and rename, at the top in a grid. 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. 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. 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.
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. If you opt to wait for the official Windows 11 rollout, you can upgrade your PC the traditional way. Microsoft allows you to download the files via the Windows update feature. You simply click the install updates button in Windows 7 or check the updates button in Windows 10, and you will get a new OS.
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 is rolling out the OS in phases, so your system might not prompt you to upgrade just yet -- in fact, you might not find it even if you tell your computer to check for updates.
An August blog post from Microsoft said the company expects "all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022." Don't want to wait another half a year? Read on to find out how the Windows 11 Installation Assistant is your shortcut to Windows 11. There are many users who, after the release of Windows 11, went ahead and checked whether their PC is eligible to be upgraded with Windows 11. Sadly, they found out that their PC does not meet the minimum requirements to install Windows 11.
In this case, the question arises what options are left then? To put it simply, the best option here is to buy a new PC before the deadline, i.e. 2025. Click the advanced options link during the installation process and choose to run the install without online assistant or updates. We want to install from the file we copied over and not from a file stored in the cloud. This means there will be updates to download and install after the initial process is completed.
