How to watch and what to expect

On Thursday, June 24, 2021, Microsoft will host an event to talk about “the next generation of Windows”. Microsoft is expected to announce Windows 11 – after all, Windows 11 just leaked. Here’s how to watch and what we expect to see.

Update, 06/24/21: Microsoft officially announced Windows 11. Along with it, the company released a program that checks whether your computer can run the new operating system along with an overview of the minimum system requirements.

RELATED: Windows 11: What’s new in Microsoft’s new operating system

When will the Windows 11 event take place?

Microsoft will broadcast the event live beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on June 24, 2021. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay will both present during the event. If you can’t tune in at the time of the live stream, you can head over to Microsoft’s website and watch it later on your own schedule.

How to watch the Windows 11 event live

You can watch the Windows 11 event with just a web browser. Just head to the official Microsoft Windows Event Page to plug in when the time comes.

Microsoft’s Event Streams work in any modern browser, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. You can stream them on a Windows 10 PC, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, Android tablet, Linux PC, or any other device you use.

Want to watch on a streaming device, game console, or smart TV? You may be able to find the live stream at Microsoft’s YouTube channelalso, when the time comes.

If you miss the live stream, you should be able to tune in later by revisiting the page or finding it on Microsoft’s YouTube channel.

What to expect

During the Build 2021 conference keynote on May 25, 2021, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he used “the next generation of Windowsfor several months and that we would hear about it during this event.

Since then, Microsoft has been teasing Windows 11. But it’s not just a tease: a leaked first version of Windows 11 has already appeared.

So that’s what we’re waiting for: the official announcement of Windows 11. If you’re curious about what the Windows 11 user interface will look like, you can already take a look. There’s a new Start menu, new icons (the update of the “Sun Valley” interface), and a widgets button on the taskbar. Also, you must sign in with a Microsoft account unless you are upgrading to Windows 11 Professional.

However, the leak is an early build. During the announcement, we expect to hear more about future plans for Windows 11. Here’s what we expect to hear:

• Release Plans: When will Microsoft release Windows 11? If we had to guess, we’d say before the end of 2021. In some ways, this looks more like a big Windows 10 update. However, we don’t know what the release cycle will be.
• Upgrade cost: If we had to guess, we’d say Windows 11 will be a free update to Windows 10. Our colleagues at Geek review even managed to install the leaked version with a Windows 7 key. However, we don’t know for sure.
• The future of the store: Microsoft talked about a revamped Microsoft Store with more emphasis on desktop apps. There are even rumors floating around that the Microsoft Store will allow other store apps like Steam as well as competing browsers like Google Chrome.
• Settings and Control Panel: The leaked version of Windows 11 contains the Settings app almost unchanged from Windows 10, and the Control Panel is still there. Is Microsoft finally planning to unify Windows settings?
• Everything else: We originally wondered if Windows 11 was leaking to generate hype, but honestly the leaked version is kind of disappointing. Microsoft probably wants to share more details about its plans for Windows 11 and the future of the Windows operating system.

We know a lot about the current leaked version of Windows 11, but we don’t know what changes Microsoft plans to make before release or what the company’s bigger plans are. We’ll hear a lot more about it at the event.