Windows 11 will start to become available from 5th October

by Mark Tyson on 1 September 2021, 10:11

Tags: Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Windows 10

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On Tuesday evening, Microsoft finally named the date for the availability of Windows 11. The new Windows OS will become available starting from 5th October. From that date, consumers will be able to buy new PCs with Windows 11 pre-installed. In a change to telegraphed plans we heard earlier this year, the OS update will also start to roll out to eligible/qualifying Windows 10 PCs through Windows Update. Yes, Panos Panay is "pumped" about this news.

Microsoft says that its upgrade rollout will be "phased and measured with a focus on quality". From the blurb on the Windows Blog (linked top), it appears that Microsoft plans to trigger Windows Update notifications for those with newer PCs first, working its way down the market stack. It will also leverage its intelligence models to make sure systems less likely to have issues with the upgrade get served earlier. Microsoft expects to have offered free upgrades to all eligible systems by mid-2022.

If you think your PC is ready for Windows 11 – and you are too – then you will be able to 'prod' Windows Update to check and see if it is ready for your device. We have seen Windows Updates work like this for quite some time, and it seems to be a decent approach to satisfy the slow and steady, and eager early adopter crowds, and those in between.

Microsoft took the time in its blog post to recap the highlights of Windows 11 in 11 bullet points. As a reminder, you can find an abridged version of Microsoft's boastfulness below:

  • New UI design
  • Revamped Start Menu with Cloud and Microsoft 365 integration
  • Snap Layouts, Snap Groups and Desktops
  • Integrated Chat from Microsoft Teams
  • Widgets for your personal feeds
  • Windows 11 is "the best Windows ever for gaming," enabling DX12 Ultimate technology (see video below)
  • There is a new Microsoft Store
  • Improvements have been made to accessibility
  • New developer opportunities are opened up by Win 11
  • The new Windows is optimised for speed and efficiency and plurality of input
  • Windows 11 delivers on the promise of hybrid working

Last but not least, Microsoft rounds off its blog post about the Windows 11 launch by highlighting some new PCs you might want to buy. Sadly there is nothing new to see though, these are just the latest laptops and hybrids from partners like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo – and some Surface devices (with up to 11th Gen Intel and AMD Ryzen 5000 processors). I had an inkling of hope for some Alder Lake device teases, but there were none…



HEXUS Forums :: 15 Comments

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- Revamped Start Menu with Cloud and Microsoft 365 integration
Oh Joy. I don't (and am not going to) use 365, and I want Cloud integration about as much as I want an STD. Maybe less.

- Integrated Chat from Microsoft Teams
I didn't think they could find anything to make me less interested than Cloud integration but yup, that'll do it.

More seriously, if that quoted list of ‘features’ is the high points, what exactly about this justifies a major revision number? Snap layouts and rounded corners on dialogs? Yawn.
Can anyone who's been testing WII say if, or what, provisioned packages can be removed using Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage and/or Remove-WindowsCapability?

Can Teams, Microsoft 365, Widgets (i assume they're not allowing third party widgets), Android app API, and the cloud integration with the start menu be removed.

Come to think of it i could test it myself, is there a legitimate (from Microsoft) way to download an ISO without being an insider?
Saracen999
- Revamped Start Menu with Cloud and Microsoft 365 integration
Oh Joy. I don't (and am not going to) use 365, and I want Cloud integration about as much as I want an STD. Maybe less.

- Integrated Chat from Microsoft Teams
I didn't think they could find anything to make me less interested than Cloud integration but yup, that'll do it.

More seriously, if that quoted list of ‘features’ is the high points, what exactly about this justifies a major revision number? Snap layouts and rounded corners on dialogs? Yawn.

These are two things that cause me no end of issues on Windows 10. I do not want Teams chat on all the time. I want to shut it down and for it go away when I don't want it running. I do not want microsoft copying and swapping versions of my files. I do not want to have to wait for something I dump on my desktop to sync with the cloud before it appears for me to use.

The integration of these “features” was already too much and too invasive. Now I've got to fight with them all over again? Or is Microsoft going to furnish us with a nice easy way to turn this stuff off and never be bothered by it again?
Saracen999
- Revamped Start Menu with Cloud and Microsoft 365 integration
Oh Joy. I don't (and am not going to) use 365, and I want Cloud integration about as much as I want an STD. Maybe less.

- Integrated Chat from Microsoft Teams
I didn't think they could find anything to make me less interested than Cloud integration but yup, that'll do it.

More seriously, if that quoted list of ‘features’ is the high points, what exactly about this justifies a major revision number? Snap layouts and rounded corners on dialogs? Yawn.

LOL Oh your so negitive ….. But I have to admit I agree with everything you said.

Although I have tried windows 11 I don't think I'll be upgrading myself, it just doesn''t offer enough thats of any use to me.
The tpm specs are a painn in the back side but you can work around them but the actual new start menu is so awfull it's a joke, search was better but I know where I save my files so even that is something I'd use only once every blue moon.
Running android apps <spits and curses> If I honestly said how much that means to me I would be banned from this website, I own a pc not a bloody phone and infact I know my pc will be safer not running any of that rubbish thats coded by some spotty 14 year old with no clue.

I can see windows 11 being like the jump from 95 to 98, a very small one.
I am somebody who really doesn't have an issue with Windows. Performs when I need it, and when it doesn't I am capable enough to fix it. That being said, I really haven't moved off it for gaming purposes. I am very excited to see the progression of Steam OS 3.0 and the evolution of proton. Its pretty good so far but I cant say I'd feel any reason to stay on windows if it makes a major leap in performance(which it looks like it will).

Windows 11 seems like it just focused on ui.