Page 23 - 2110

Windows 11 available on October 5
Microsoft finally confirmed the official release date for
Windows 11. The latest version of Microsoft’s operat-
ing system will make its public debut on October 5th,
2021. As was previously announced, Windows 11 will
be a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 PCs. Com-
puters preloaded with Windows 11 will also be availa-
ble starting on the same day.
Windows 11, much like Windows 10, will roll out in
phases over the coming weeks and months. At first,
Microsoft will seed the upgrade to eligible devices. If
you want to know if your device is eligible, check this
document on Microsoft’s support site. Following that,
Windows 11 “will then roll out over time to in-market
devices based on intelligence models that consider
hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device
and other factors that impact the upgrade experi-
ence.”
Aaron Woodman, General Manager of Windows Mar-
keting, says that Microsoft expects every eligible de-
vice to be offered the free upgrade by mid-2022. Once
your Windows 10 device is eligible, Windows Update
will let you know when you can upgrade. If you’re get-
ting antsy, you can also manually check by going to
Settings > Windows Update and clicking “Check for
updates.”
Microsoft also took the opportunity to highlight some
of the most notable features of Windows 11. As
you’ve seen in screenshots and videos, Microsoft has
totally refreshed the user interface. Everything from
the Start menu to the toolbar to the menus look and
sound different on Windows 11. Microsoft is also intro- AI, provides a faster way to access the information
ducing Snap Layouts, Snap Groups, and Desktops to
improve multitasking. Microsoft has also integrated
Teams directly into the toolbar. There are also new
Widgets, an overhauled Microsoft Store, accessibility
improvements, and more.
Finally, it’s worth noting that some Windows 11 fea-
tures will not be available at launch. For example,
support for Android apps won’t be ready on day one,
but a preview for Windows Insiders is coming.
Windows 10 will be supported into 2025
If you want to make sure that your device is eligible
for Windows 11, Microsoft will soon relaunch the PC
October 2021 23
Health Check app. If you are not able to upgrade
your device, there’s good news. Microsoft plans to
continue supporting Windows 10 through October
14th, 2025. Beyond supporting the aging OS, Mi-
crosoft also recently announced a feature update
for Windows 10 coming in 2021.
Notably, even if your computer does fail the health
check, you can still apply the upgrade. It’s a slight-
ly more complicated process, and there are still
minimum specifications to be wary of, but at least
it’s possible.
Here are 11 highlights of this release
1. The new design and sounds are modern,
fresh, clean and beautiful, bringing you a sense of
calm and ease.
2. With Start, we’ve put you and your content at
the center. Start utilizes the power of the cloud
and Microsoft 365 to show you your recent files no
matter what device you were viewing them on.
3. Snap Layouts, Snap Groups and Desktops
provide an even more powerful way to multitask
and optimize your screen real estate.
4. Chat from Microsoft Teams integrated into the
taskbar provides a faster way to connect to the
people you care about.
5. Widgets, a new personalized feed powered by
you care about, and with Microsoft Edge’s world
class performance, speed and productivity fea-
tures you can get more done on the web.
6. Windows 11 delivers the best Windows ever for
gaming and unlocks the full potential of your sys-
tem’s hardware with technology like DirectX12 Ul-
timate, DirectStorage and Auto HDR. With Xbox
Game Pass for PC or Ultimate you get access to
over 100 high-quality PC games to play on Win-
dows 11 for one low monthly price. (Xbox Game
Pass sold separately.)