The Microsoft Mechanics YouTube channel is sometimes useful to check in on, as it provides a deeper dive into the technicalities of Windows, both in background information ('under the hood') and in advanced usage. A video earlier this week is a case in point, and it is titled Windows 11: The Optimization and Performance Improvements. For your convenience, it is embedded below.
The above video is hosted by Microsoft's Jeremy Chapman, and features Steve Dispensa, VP of Enterprise Management at Microsoft. Before starting on the topic of how Windows 11 is optimised and delivers performance improvements over Windows 10, we get to hear about the design philosophy. Dispensa introduces Windows 11 as the first version of this important OS which was "conceived for a zero trust and hybrid world". Additionally, the design is conceived to help people be productive, focus smartly on the task in hand, and minimise distractions. A feature that illustrates this goal was set and achieved in the design is Snap Assist with its quick access guided screen layouts for the modern multitasking workforce – a feature that is multi-monitor friendly too.
Microsoft hybrid office concept is one of the central reasons that the minimum specs for Windows 11 are so stringent, Dispensa explains. This explains the TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot insistence to some degree, but it isn't made clear why some platforms narrowly missed out from being rubber-stamped (like Intel Kaby Lake, or first gen AMD Zen CPUs). Please note though, that the Microsoft Mechanics channel is going to cover its minimum compatibility hurdles "in great detail," coming soon, in a video hosted by Dave Weston, Partner Director PM, Enterprise Security, Microsoft.
Moving onto the main course (video 2mins 9sec onwards), we are told that Windows 11 feels snappier in use thanks largely to foreground prioritisation. It is demonstrated that even with a heavy load running on the PC, once you switch and start working on other windows they get prioritised and appear to be as responsive as they would be on an otherwise unstressed PC. The next sections of the video deal with Microsoft Edge specifics such as sleeping tabs and memory usage by this browser, resuming from sleep, and the reduced footprint of Win 11.
It would have been interesting to hear about Windows 11 on hybrid architecture processors like Alder Lake, but I think we will get more about this after Intel's 12th gen Core processors start to become available to users.
Another important transitional issue addressed by the video is whether all the apps and services you currently run on Windows 10 will continue to work well on Windows 11. On this question, Dispensa asserts that Microsoft has extensively tested thousands of apps, with no issues, as Windows 11 is a "continuation of the same underlying platform," and the transition to Windows 11 is basically "comparable to moving to a new Windows 10 feature update". Moving along through the video, the next sections (from 8mins 38sec onwards) are addressed more towards network admins.
Windows 11 will be installed on new systems, and will roll out as a free upgrade to Windows 10 users, starting from Tuesday, 5th October.
Windows 11 ad campaign
In other Windows 11 news, Insider Preview Build 22454 was released on Thursday, with a focus on ironing out bugs. Microsoft also unveiled its advertising campaign, centred on the 60-second clip below, which is set to the music of the new single 'All Starts Now' by Odessa featuring Tim Myers.
