Microsoft released Windows 11 officially on October 4. Now, you might be wondering what’s new in Windows 11 and whether you should upgrade to the new OS version.
To help you decide, here are some release highlights and other things to consider before upgrading.
What’s new in Windows 11?
With Windows 11, Microsoft has been concentrating on the usability and look and feel of the operating system. The new OS version has a clean design with rounded corners and pastel shades and many interesting UI changes, such as:
- The Start Menu has been moved to the center of the screen.
- The desktop can be customized, for example, with personalizable Windows widgets.
- Toggling between virtual desktops is easier.
- Transitioning from a monitor to a laptop is smoother.
Moreover, the Microsoft Teams application is integrated into Windows and can be accessed directly on the taskbar. Later, Microsoft will also release support for Android applications in Windows 11 via the Amazon Appstore.
From a technical point of view, there isn’t much new that would attract you to immediately upgrade to Windows 11. However, there are some highlights worth mentioning:
- Windows 11 requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip version 2.0, UEFI, and secure boot, which helps improve device security.
- Windows 11 will only receive one major feature update per year (whereas Windows 10 used to get two major feature updates per year) making maintenance easier.
- Microsoft will reduce its quality update size by 40%, which will most probably make the patching of larger Windows environments smoother.
Minimum requirements
To run Windows 11, your device needs to meet the following system requirements:
- A compatible processor with 1 GHz (or faster) clock speed and two or more cores (compatible processors are listed in Microsoft documentation)
- 4 GB of RAM
- 64 GB of free disk space
- A graphics card that is compatible with DirectX 12 or later, with a WDDM 2.0 driver
- UEFI Secure Boot
- A Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip version 2.0
- An Internet connection
You can check all Windows 11 requirements in Microsoft’s documentation or use Miradore’s new dashboard widget to check your entire device fleet’s compatibility at once.
Should you upgrade to Windows 11?
If your devices don’t meet all the above-mentioned requirements, you might face some slowness or even performance issues with the AMD processor when upgrading.
What’s interesting, Microsoft’s PC Health Check tool for checking the Windows 11 eligibility of the device will be automatically available for devices running Windows 10 version 2004 and above. This raises the question — will Windows 11 be automatically pushed to devices at some point?
If you’re using Miradore, you can easily manage Windows updates and, for example, prevent your employees (or device users) from upgrading to Windows 11 by adding a restriction on your Windows devices.
Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until October 2025 and the new Windows 10 version, 21H2, will be released by the end of this year. So, you are not in a rush to upgrade your devices. However, if your devices meet the system requirements and the new Windows 11 features are the answer to your needs, there isn’t any reason why you shouldn’t upgrade.
Sources:
- "Windows lifecycle and servicing update" by Microsoft
- "What's new in Windows 11" by Microsoft
- "Microsoft launched Windows 11. Now what? Essential info about the new OS" by CNET
- "Update on Windows 11 minimum system requirements and the PC Health Check app" by Microsoft
