Microsoft took the wraps off of Windows 11 in a 45-minute online event, titled "What's next for Windows,"[1] held on June 24, 2021. A few days later, the company released the first preview of the new operating system for members of the Windows Insider Preview Program.
If you use a Windows PC at home or at work, how will this upgrade affect you? I've been collecting your questions and have assembled the answers here.
What is Windows 11?
At the risk of stating the blindingly obvious, Windows 11 is the successor to Windows 10. It's built on the same core architecture as Windows 10; indeed, Microsoft could have chosen to deliver the new features in Windows 11 through a series of semi-annual feature updates to Windows 10 without a name change.
Instead, they chose to make this a good old-fashioned "big bang" release, with a new major version number and a laundry list of new features.
For starters, there's a new user experience, with refreshed colors and icons, major changes to the Start menu and taskbar, an extensive reworking of the Settings app, a Widgets pane designed to deliver bite-size chunks of news and reminders, and a greatly improved way to snap windows into position.
Hardware-assisted security, which has been an optional part of Windows 10, is now mandatory, which means Secure Boot and device encryption are available by default to protect against increasingly sophisticated online attacks.
If you've been unimpressed with the paltry selection of apps in the Microsoft Store, you're not alone. Windows 11 offers a major update to the Store, including the option for third-party developers to make their conventional Win32 desktop apps available for secure downloads through the Store.
And speaking of apps, Windows 11 will include a new Windows Subsystem