Now, unless you’ve lived under the proverbial rock (or maybe you’re a Mac user), you might have heard that Microsoft now has a new operating system. They’ve just released Windows 11, and if you need a quick recap of what’s going on, you can read more here.
So what’s new with Windows 11?
Perhaps the most noticeable change that will be noticed the most is the new Start menu, where it has been moved to the center of the taskbar. Granted, it’s not as big a change as removing Windows 8 completely, but you’ll be happy to know that you can always put it back to the left if you prefer. Along with the change to the Start menu comes a host of other UI and graphics changes to make it a bit more sleek than before.
There are also a bunch of new productivity features. Snap layouts, for example, make it much easier to open multiple windows at the same time, and this layout can also be saved to a Snap group for easy access. Windows widgets, on the other hand, look like Microsoft Launcher on Android’s custom widget stream. You can have your calendar, weather, news and everything in this feed. Microsoft Teams has also been built into Windows 11, whether you like it or not.
Unsurprisingly, with a slew of new Surface devices launching simultaneously such as Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio, Microsoft has dramatically improved the keyboard-less experience when using Windows 11. There is now haptic feedback when using Windows 11. using a stylus like the Surface Pen, while there’s also a new voice dictation feature.
Microsoft also said it has completely rebuilt the Microsoft Store for better and faster search results. There is native support for Android apps as well, although this feature is not available at this time with no certain release date in sight. It should be noted, however, that you will also not be able to use Android apps on Windows 11 through Google. Instead, you’ll need to install the Amazon Appstore from the Microsoft Store, then create and sign in to your Amazon account to access those apps.
As for gamers, there will also be some new features in Windows 11 for you. Auto HDR (High Dynamic Range) allows the computer to change the lighting and color of your game from standard dynamic range to HDR. This should work great for older titles where the environment is crucial for the gaming experience, like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. There’s also DirectStorage technology, which allows the system to load assets onto the GPU without bogging down your CPU, allowing for faster in-game load times.
Great! But what’s the catch?
Almost immediately after the announcement of Windows 11, people realized that Windows 11 had surprisingly high hardware requirements. To get started, you must have enabled Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and SecureBoot in your PC’s BIOS settings. While most processors have some form of built-in TPM, it was still a headache for those who might not have enabled these settings and were unfamiliar with the technology.
And then Microsoft revealed that even if your processor has a TPM, it will still need to be on its list of supported processors to run Windows 11. This list roughly cuts most first-gen AMD Ryzen processors and 7th Generation Intel. as well as the earlier silicon from running their latest operating system – Microsoft’s list of Windows 11 compatible processors is mostly limited to 8th Gen AMD Zen + and Intel processors. In fact, the only mainstream 7th Gen Intel processor to cut Windows 11 was the Core i7-7820HQ, the same processor Microsoft has in its Surface Studio 2 desktop.
Of course, Microsoft won’t stop you from installing Windows 11 anyway if your computer doesn’t meet their requirements. However, this comes with the caveat that you will not get any updates to your system, even if its crucial security updates. Some on Windows 11 previews also found that it would be extremely difficult to forgo Microsoft Edge as the default browser.
Additionally, although Microsoft has said that Windows 11 was designed for gamers, depending on your system settings, it could actually worsen your gaming performance by up to 25%. The main problem stems from Virtualization-Based Security (VBS), which uses hardware and software virtualization to improve system security by creating an isolated subsystem, preventing malware from reaching your PC.
With the launch of Windows 11, most new PCs and laptops from Microsoft’s OEM partners will come with VBS enabled by default. PCGamer discovered that with VBS enabled, Windows 11 ended up killing performance in games. While clean installations of Windows 11 likely won’t have it by default, machines built by the OEM will. As to whether their line of gaming machines will also have VBS, that remains to be seen.
Still, while Windows 11 is still something you’d love to try, it’s actually pretty easy to do.
Where can I get Windows 11?
Well, the most obvious answer is actually to use your normal Windows 10 PC as usual. Assuming it meets Microsoft’s requirements for Windows 11, you can head to the Settings app on your computer. Under the Update & Security tab, you should find a section for Windows Update. Assuming you’re already using the latest version of Windows 10, you can see this:
However, if Microsoft has determined that your computer is indeed capable of running Windows 11 but has not yet offered it to you, you will see a message stating that the exact time of it will vary.
Alternatively, if you want to skip the queue, you can head to the Windows 11 software download page on Microsoft’s website. There you will find three different ways to perform a Windows 11 installation. The first is the Windows 11 installation wizard. This is probably the easiest way to do it because it upgrades your Windows 10 computer. to Windows 11 (assuming you have met the requirements).
However, if you prefer to perform a clean install of Windows 11, you can either create a bootable USB drive or DVD by selecting to download Windows 11 installation media. The last option allows you to download the image ISO file. Windows 11 disk if you want to create a virtual machine and install Windows 11 in it. Note, however, that Microsoft warns you against deleting the queue and instead wait for you to be notified via Windows Update that Windows 11 is ready to be installed on your PC.
And just in case you end up hating everything Windows 11 and want to go back to Windows 10, there’s a way to do that as well. If less than 10 days have passed since upgrading to Windows 11 from Windows 10, you can go to the Settings app and find the recovery page. There you will see an option called “Go Back”, which allows you to restore your system to Windows 10.
But if it has been more than 10 days since you made the change, or if you did a clean install of Windows 11, then you will need to do a clean install of Windows 10 on your computer. To do this, simply go to the Windows 10 software download page on Microsoft’s website and follow the instructions there.
If you’re already on Windows 11, let us know how it’s been for you so far! We would love to hear about your Windows 11 experience so far in the comments below.
