New update Windows 11 Microsoft
Microsoft Windows 11 is no ordinary update, but sitting through Microsoft's dull and bug-ridden announcements training, you'd never know it. This is why a lot of what we're going to talk about.
What Is Windows 11
At first glance, Windows 11 is a little more than a major interface redesign. On top of what is fundamentally Windows 10. But on closer inspection. There is more going on under the hood than we give it credit for. In particular, enhanced support for hybrid architecture processors with both a mix of performance and power savings CPU cores, like Intel's Lakefield. That is gonna be a big deal in very little time.
Windows 11 Microsoft Design
The most obvious improvement is, of course though, the new visual design. It's a frosted glass aesthetic with multiple themed styles, rounded corners on windows, and a center-aligned taskbar, an optimization that Microsoft made clear was for touch users. Did you feel that? The new start menu clearly lifted from Windows 10X. It's powered by the cloud. which appears to be code for. we included Bing's search as usual. But now your recent documents will sync across devices If you're using Office 365, So that's pretty cool.
Snap layouts let you quickly. There are more useful changes. Snap layouts let you quickly and easily tile windows in different orientations, similar to how the FancyZones PowerToy works today? Except it's significantly more user-friendly and significantly less configurable. Microsoft says that nobody else lets you do that with this many windows.
And that ended up being one of the biggest revelations of the presentation. Linux has apparently been renamed to nobody else, alas. They do bring something new to the table here though.
Windows groups this way will group together
in the taskbar and be treated like a single item. So, you can switch to and from a window layout on the fly and your multiple virtual desktops can now be customized with different wallpapers to make it easier to keep track of them.
That was on the remove to display, and then put them all back when you reconnect. This is gonna make docking a laptop way less frustrating, although I'm not sure what happens if you disconnect the display, then interact with those programs, then reconnect it. There are more for all-in-ones and touch displays in general as well. Touch targets are bigger now with more visual feedback and there's a new on-screen keyboard that we didn't get to properly test drive just set that looks a lot like the iOS keyboard,
right down to the ability to move the cursor around by holding the space bar. But, that's all boring productivity stuff.
What's more, they finally fixed the issue where windows would rearrange themselves semi-randomly when monitors are disconnected and reconnected.
So instead, they will minimize windows
What about gaming in Windows 11?
Well, after debuting on the Xbox series X, auto HDR is coming to Windows and direct storage support is baked into Windows 11OS and driver level. That's gonna bring Windows more in line with Xbox from a feature standpoint, and personally, I am really excited to see both of these in action. I mean, given the Windows Teamshistorically terrible HDR implementation, I'm hesitantly optimistic about automatically converting older, non-HDR games to HDR. But Direct Storage, which allows your GPU
to access your systems game drive, or really any other drive, directly, should substantially improve loading times in games once it's supported.
to access your systems game drive, or really any other drive, directly, should substantially improve loading times in games once it's supported.
Windows 11 Xbox game
Xbox game pass is now integrated into the Xbox app that comes with Windows, And we got more promises
of cross-platform play as is the tradition by now,
though we have no idea how many titles will support it. If it's gonna be difficult to support it. If it's a system-wide thing, or what. Though at least with Sony, also finally talking more favorably about cross-play. It feels like the light at the end of this tunnel is finally visible.
of cross-platform play as is the tradition by now,
though we have no idea how many titles will support it. If it's gonna be difficult to support it. If it's a system-wide thing, or what. Though at least with Sony, also finally talking more favorably about cross-play. It feels like the light at the end of this tunnel is finally visible.
The additions to pen input look pretty sweet and Microsoft has added haptic feedback to simulate the feel of different tools as you're using them. There's not really a whole lot else for us to say about that. Because they only showed it briefly. And the same goes for screen rotation which is much more streamlined now with windows rotating smoothly with the display. And tiled windows in landscape mode stacking
onto each other rather than arranging unpredictably
like they used to. Speaking of unpredictable.
onto each other rather than arranging unpredictably
like they used to. Speaking of unpredictable.
Teams are now integrated into Windows directly. I can't say I predicted that. When did everyone start using TeamsWhen did everyone start using Teams? Am I outta touch? No. It's the children who are wrong. There's now a dedicated icon for Teams then that gives you what looks like a searchable jump list of recent contacts and buttons for interacting with them and I'm just not sure this is what anyone was asking for. But hey, at least Microsoft has something akin to I-message and FaceTime built-ins.
So, that's cool I guess. There was a brief mention of dictation and voice commands as well.
So, that's cool I guess. There was a brief mention of dictation and voice commands as well.
So, presumably, that is also an upgrade to compete with Siri on Mac OS. Mac OS, they made a big deal about how Teams works on any platform and it wasn't the only thing that felt like an unnecessary dig at Apple. Even the FAQ page on their website has this kind of thing in place
of genuinely useful information.
of genuinely useful information.
Windows Store in Windows 11
Guys, Microsoft, we wanna know. How much it's gonna cost stand alone. Obviously, computers cost anywhere from here to here. I guess we'll know soon enough though
when it pops up in the Windows store. Now with the ability to show movies, TV shows, and other content, regardless of the streaming service and integration with the Amazon app store.
when it pops up in the Windows store. Now with the ability to show movies, TV shows, and other content, regardless of the streaming service and integration with the Amazon app store.
Windows 11 Android apps
you can now run Android apps directly in Windows.
There's no word yet on whether sideloading is possible
or if you're stuck with the Amazon store, but this is still really cool. As for why they're doing it, our best guess is that if enough people run Android apps on Windows, developers will finally buy into Microsoft's pitch about how it's super easy to port your apps natively to the Windows Store and enjoy Microsoft's industry-leading rev share, and support for outside payment processors, finger guns. And I guess the end goal then would be to kill the Window store's current ghost town vibe. Speaking of things deceased, but now brought back to life.
There's no word yet on whether sideloading is possible
or if you're stuck with the Amazon store, but this is still really cool. As for why they're doing it, our best guess is that if enough people run Android apps on Windows, developers will finally buy into Microsoft's pitch about how it's super easy to port your apps natively to the Windows Store and enjoy Microsoft's industry-leading rev share, and support for outside payment processors, finger guns. And I guess the end goal then would be to kill the Window store's current ghost town vibe. Speaking of things deceased, but now brought back to life.
Windows 11 Widgets panel
The new Widgets panel is nothing like Gadgets in Vista.
Microsoft describes them as a beautiful sheet of glass,
powered by AI. In effect, they're pretty much the news
and interests panel that Microsoft added to Windows 10 in the 21H1 update, but with some additional features and the AI is well. It's news that is tailored to your interests. They can be brought up or dismissed by swiping in from the left edge of the screen on a touchscreen or clicking the icon in the taskbar.
Microsoft describes them as a beautiful sheet of glass,
powered by AI. In effect, they're pretty much the news
and interests panel that Microsoft added to Windows 10 in the 21H1 update, but with some additional features and the AI is well. It's news that is tailored to your interests. They can be brought up or dismissed by swiping in from the left edge of the screen on a touchscreen or clicking the icon in the taskbar.
Windows 11 price and availability
Of course, the biggest question is pricing and availability.
what Windows 11 update for windows 10 official? They didn't talk about this much in the presentation. But from the FAQ, we've put together that it will be a free update for Windows 10 users and it'll start shipping in late 2021 on new PCs with standalone copies available in early 2022. As for pricing, if I had to guess, I would say, it'll be a hundo for home and a hundo plus for pro. Otherwise, smart people would all just buy Windows 10. which costs that amount and then upgrades it for free.
Windows 11 system requirements
Another thing Microsoft didn't tell us and buried in the FAQ, system requirements. As we've already seen, Windows 11 requires a secure boot and TPM 2.0 to function as a security measure. This is hands down going to create the most confusion for end-users around this launch. And Microsoft makes their own life more difficult for no apparent reason because instead of just saying when you go to install it. You need this trusted platform module chip and secure boot enabled in your UEFI files, Microsoft just gives you this ambiguous error that says your system isn't compatible.
Why? Windows 11 also requires two or more CPU cores,
four gigs of RAM, 64 gigs of storage, and a DirectX 12 compatible GPU. Don't have all that stuff? I don't know, go buy a new PC I guess, says Microsoft. What's more troubling, however, is this note that Windows 11 Home Edition requires an internet connection and a Microsoft account to complete the first-time setup. This is a weird one,
you actually get fewer features for using a Microsoft account. A desktop wallpaper is no longer synched with your Microsoft account between devices, though I personally actually just found that feature kind of annoying. And the timeline feature has been removed. There's more. The taskbar is now locked to the bottom of the screen. The start menu no longer has support for folders or groups. Live Tiles are gone. The menu itself cannot be resized. And Tablet Mode is gone and replaced with the new touch inputs.
Not all the changes we had to dig for are bad though.
Cortana mercifully won't bug you during the first-time setup,
nor take up unnecessary space on the taskbar by default. So, it's just baffling that this stuff wasn't touched on
during the event because a lot of it seems pretty important to me.
four gigs of RAM, 64 gigs of storage, and a DirectX 12 compatible GPU. Don't have all that stuff? I don't know, go buy a new PC I guess, says Microsoft. What's more troubling, however, is this note that Windows 11 Home Edition requires an internet connection and a Microsoft account to complete the first-time setup. This is a weird one,
you actually get fewer features for using a Microsoft account. A desktop wallpaper is no longer synched with your Microsoft account between devices, though I personally actually just found that feature kind of annoying. And the timeline feature has been removed. There's more. The taskbar is now locked to the bottom of the screen. The start menu no longer has support for folders or groups. Live Tiles are gone. The menu itself cannot be resized. And Tablet Mode is gone and replaced with the new touch inputs.
Not all the changes we had to dig for are bad though.
Cortana mercifully won't bug you during the first-time setup,
nor take up unnecessary space on the taskbar by default. So, it's just baffling that this stuff wasn't touched on
during the event because a lot of it seems pretty important to me.
Summery
Now, it's unclear how the Windows 11 leak occurred
before the big reveal today. Some have speculated that it was on purpose, but what we know for sure is that it was
a significantly older build than what they just showed
and that there's no immediate pressure for you to upgrade.
The October 14th, 2025 retirement date, puts Windows 10 service life at just over 10 years. That's just a few months short of Windows 7's. Was it a good operating system?
Ah, I don't know if it is remembered as fondly as Windows 7 was, but it was definitely better than the mess that was Windows 8. So, here's hoping then that Microsoft finally manages to break the good-bad, good-bad pattern
and keep that positive momentum going when Windows 11 finally reaches our PCs.
before the big reveal today. Some have speculated that it was on purpose, but what we know for sure is that it was
a significantly older build than what they just showed
and that there's no immediate pressure for you to upgrade.
The October 14th, 2025 retirement date, puts Windows 10 service life at just over 10 years. That's just a few months short of Windows 7's. Was it a good operating system?
Ah, I don't know if it is remembered as fondly as Windows 7 was, but it was definitely better than the mess that was Windows 8. So, here's hoping then that Microsoft finally manages to break the good-bad, good-bad pattern
and keep that positive momentum going when Windows 11 finally reaches our PCs.