Windows 11 is a major version of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft that was announced on June 24, 2021, and is the successor to Windows 10, which was released in 2015. Windows 11 was released on October 5, 2021, as a free upgrade via Windows Update for eligible devices running Windows 10.
Microsoft promoted that Windows 11 would have improved performance and ease of use over Windows 10; it features major changes to the Windows shell influenced by the canceled Windows 10X, including a redesigned Start menu, the replacement of its “live tiles” with a separate “Widgets” panel on the taskbar, the ability to create tiled sets of windows that can be minimized and restored from the taskbar as a group, and new gaming technologies inherited from Xbox Series X and Series S such as Auto HDR and DirectStorage on compatible hardware. Internet Explorer is fully replaced by the Blink layout engine-based Microsoft Edge, while Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell. Microsoft also announced plans to offer support for Android apps to run on Windows 11, with support for Amazon Appstore and manually-installed packages.
Due to new security mandates, Windows 11 has stricter hardware requirements than Windows 10, with Microsoft only supporting the operating system with updates on devices using an eighth-generation Intel Core CPU or newer (with some exceptions), AMD Ryzen CPU based on Zen+ microarchitecture or newer, or Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 ARM system-on-chip or newer. UEFI secure boot and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 support is also required. Windows 11 no longer supports 32-bit x86 architecture or systems using BIOS firmware.
Release History
The Windows 11 name was accidentally released in an official Microsoft support document in June 2021. Leaked iso images of a purported beta build of Windows 11’s desktop surfaced online later on June 15, 2021, which were followed by a leak of the aforementioned build on the same day. The screenshots and leaked build show an interface resembling that of the cancelled Windows 10X, alongside a redesigned out-of-box experience (OOBE) and Windows 11 branding. Microsoft would later confirm the authenticity of the leaked beta, with Panay stating that it was an “early weird build”.
At the June 24 media event, Microsoft also announced that Windows 11 would be released in “Holiday 2021”, with an exact date not given.Its release will be accompanied by a free upgrade for compatible Windows 10 devices through Windows Update. On June 28, Microsoft announced the release of the first preview build and SDK of Windows 11 to Windows Insiders.
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. Since its predecessor Windows 10 was released on July 29, 2015, more than six years earlier, this is the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows operating systems, beating the time between Windows XP (released on October 25, 2001) and Windows Vista (released on January 30, 2007).
Microsoft officially released Windows 11 on October 4, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. PT, which was October 5 in parts of the world. Updates through Windows Update are a phased rollout: Microsoft stated that they “expect all eligible Windows 10 devices to be offered the upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022.”
User interface
A redesigned interface is present 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”. Much of the interface and start menu take heavy inspiration from the now-canceled Windows 10X.
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 notifications sidebar is now accessed by clicking the date and time, with other Quick Actions toggles, as well as volume, brightness, and media playback controls, moved to a new settings pop-up displayed by clicking on the system tray. 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.
The Start menu has been significantly redesigned, replacing the “live tiles” used by Windows 8.x and 10 with a grid of “pinned” applications, and a list of recent applications and documents. File Explorer was updated to replace its ribbon toolbar with a more traditional toolbar, while its context menus have been redesigned to move common tasks (such as copy and paste) to a toolbar along the top of the menu, and hide advanced operations under an overflow menu.
Task View, a feature introduced in Windows 10, features a refreshed design, and supports giving separate wallpapers to each virtual desktop. The window snapping functionality has been enhanced with two additional features; “snap layouts” allows the user to select a pre-determined layout they want to use for tiling multiple windows onto a display. The tiled arrangement of windows can be minimized and restored from the taskbar as a “snap group”.
The Segoe UI font has been updated to a variable version, improving its ability to scale between display resolutions. Other changes to the system include new system icons, animations, sounds, and widgets.
Windows Subsystem for Android
While not in the first release, a future release of Windows 11, scheduled for 2022, will allow users to install and run Android apps onto their device using the new Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA) and the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
These apps can be obtained from within the Microsoft Store via the Amazon Appstore. This feature will require a Microsoft account, an Amazon account, a one-time install for Windows Amazon Appstore client, and that the PC have 8 GB of RAM or more to run the apps. Users can also install Android apps through any source using the Android application package (APK) file format.
System security
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 (VBS), hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI), 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.
Like its predecessor, Windows 11 also supports multi-factor authentication and biometric authentication through Windows Hello.
Requirements
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 consumer version of Windows not to support 32-bit processors and 16-bit software (though Windows Server 2008 R2 was the first version of Windows NT to not support them). The minimum RAM and storage requirements were also increased; Windows 11 now requires at least 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. S mode is only supported for the Home edition of Windows 11. As of August 2021, the officially supported list of processors includes Intel Core 8th generation and later, AMD Zen+ and later, and Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 and later. The compatibility list also includes the “AF” revisions of Ryzen processors and the Intel Core i7-7820HQ (a 7th generation processor), although the latter is only supported on devices that shipped with DCH-based drivers.
Legacy BIOS is no longer supported; a UEFI system with Secure Boot and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 security coprocessor is now required. The TPM requirement in particular has led to confusion as many motherboards do not have TPM support, require a compatible TPM to be physically installed onto the motherboard, or have a built-in TPM on the CPU firmware or hardware level that is disabled by default which requires changing settings in the computer’s UEFI to enable. Original equipment manufacturers can still ship computers without the TPM 2.0 coprocessor upon Microsoft’s approval.
Devices with unsupported processors are not blocked from installing or running Windows 11, however a clean install or upgrade using ISO installation media must be performed as Windows Update will not offer an upgrade from Windows 10. Additionally, users must also accept an on-screen disclaimer stating that they will not be entitled to receive updates, and that damage caused by using Windows 11 on an unsupported configuration are not covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.
