With Windows 11, Microsoft has taken a gamble by altering up its operating system, albeit many of the improvements amount to not much more than window decoration. Windows 11 is a reaction to competition from Apple and Google, both of which have been nibbling at the edges of the market-leading desktop operating system with sleek new designs.
Despite its significantly redesigned style aimed to react to the competition, Windows 11 performs much like Windows 10 does—with considerable new capabilities and conveniences. Coming after six years of ho-hum improvements, this big makeover to the appearance and feel of the world’s most popular desktop operating system is excellent news: Windows supporters now have something to get excited about.
Windows 11 seems to be a good update, but that alone is not a compelling reason to upgrade on the first day of availability. After more than a week of day-to-day use with Windows 11, I would not urge anybody to install it at this time.
Almost none of Windows 11’s major features have been implemented as yet, and no matter how promising a new version of Windows is, some difficulties will inevitably arise on launch day.
When it comes to performance, Windows 11 is excellent right now, and it will be much better when its first substantial upgrade arrives in a few months’ time. However, on the first day, this makeover isn’t worth the possible difficulty it may cause.
Introduction
Requirements And How To Get Windows 11
The release of Windows 11 is scheduled for October 5, 2021. First and foremost, the update is being made available to recently purchased and newly constructed PCs, and then it will be made available for free to Windows 10 computers on a rolling basis, depending on certified hardware combinations.
The implementation will be completed by the middle of 2022. The most recent AdDuplex poll (conducted on November 30, 2021) revealed that Windows 11 was being used on approximately 10% of PCs, which is not inconsequential after less than two months when considering that 1.3 billion devices use the Windows operating system.
The system requirements for Windows 11 have been much discussed, but they are really rather low: a 1GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. Because there is no longer a 32-bit version of the operating system, a 64-bit CPU will be necessary.
You’ll also need a computer that has a TPM security chip and the ability to boot into Secure Boot mode. Because they’ve been standard on most PCs for the previous six or seven years, they’re less of an issue than the internet makes them out to be, according to the experts.
The CPU model, which has to be from the previous four years or so, is the big stumbling block here. Microsoft recently re-released the PC Health Check program, which examines your PC’s capacity to run Windows 11, and the firm said that more PCs would be able to update to it in the future.
Price And Availability
The release of Windows 11 was officially announced on October 5. If you’re purchasing a new copy, the upgrade will be available in both Home and Pro editions on Microsoft’s website and through certain third-party merchants, exactly like the previous version of the operating system.
Notably, although Windows 11 Home needs the use of a Microsoft account and an Internet connection to be activated, Windows 11 Pro does not require either of these prerequisites. Although beta versions of Windows 11 have been accessible to the public for some time, it is not until October 5 that the final version will be made available for purchase and that free upgrades will begin rolling out to qualified Windows PCs via Windows Update.
If your computer meets the requirements, you will be able to upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 for free. You’ll also be able to upgrade to the final version of Windows 11 on launch day if you’ve been beta testing the operating system and your computer fulfills the minimal requirements.
New Features
A New Look
Apart from the obvious desktop background look change, there are other significant changes in terms of look. Because the majority of the effort on Windows 11 was devoted to modernizing the interface rather than developing whole new capabilities, the operating system is more familiar than you may assume, as we said above.
It incorporates concepts from Chrome OS, yet you may still set program icons on the desktop backdrop, which is something that Google’s lightweight desktop operating system does not allow. Windowing and multitasking are still significantly more sophisticated in Windows than they were before.
All windows in the interface now have rounded edges (similar to those in macOS), which is a small but noticeable improvement in the overall appearance of the operating system. The Fluent Design System from Microsoft, as well as the new Mica material from that system, have had a part in the revamp.
This semi-transparent appearance is becoming more and more prevalent in bundled programs and utilities. Much of the new design offers a welcome new slickness and uniformity to the Windows interface, but Windows 11 also introduces a few new features.
The Design
The new style of Windows 11 is the most noticeable difference you’ll notice after upgrading from Windows 10. You’ll still be met with a taskbar and desktop when you first boot up Windows, but there are some new buttons on the taskbar, and they’re all centered in the middle rather than grouped in the left corner as they were before.
During the months leading up to the launch, we heard phrases like “calm,” “focused,” and “freedom” used to describe how the new appearance of Windows is supposed to make people feel, among others.
Microsoft appears to be acutely aware that the majority of us have spent the last 18 months enduring various forms of COVID-19 lockdown, and it is marketing Windows 11 as an operating system that can help you do more with your PC in a warmer, more inviting way, whether you’re using it for work or for play. Windows 11 is available now.
The concept is sound, and after more than a month of experience with Windows 11 (in different versions of beta), we can confirm that some new elements included in the design are effective and well-designed. They provide additional management tools.
The New Start Menu
Consider one of the most contentious changes introduced with Windows 11: the Start button, which has been relocated from its long-standing location in the bottom left corner of the taskbar and pushed across to the center of the screen.
So, too, has the row of pinned applications that was formerly located next to the Start button: they’ve been moved to the middle of the taskbar instead. As soon as you press the Start button, a tiny rectangular menu that looks quite similar to Android’s app drawer appears above the buttons.
This new Start Menu has all of the trademarks of Microsoft’s Fluent Design language, including rounded edges, centered text, and large, colorful icons on the left side of the screen.
The search bar is also prominently displayed at the top of the screen, which we believe is a good thing since pressing the Start button and inputting the name of whatever program, file, or menu you’re looking for is one of the quickest ways to navigate about Windows, in my opinion.
The difficulty is that there’s no obvious indication that you can do this on earlier Windows Start menus – you either have to read about it or stumble onto it by mistake to find out. More folks should have an easier time navigating Windows now that there’s a distinct Search bar at the top of the Start menu.
Desktops
The desktops interface gets a new look and a noticeable significant change. Notably, there’s a new Desktops feature that makes it easier to set up and manage several versions of your desktop environment. You won’t experience too much drag with your work apps and their positions. Although it seems to be hard, it is really rather easy.
The Task View button has been added to the Start button’s right-hand side. It seems to be two opposing windows that are overlapping one another. The option to create a new desktop will appear when you hover your cursor over it. A brief preview of all the desktops you currently have open will appear when you do so.
When you set up a new desktop, you’re essentially making a cosmetic change to your computer. Despite the fact that you may give each desktop a distinct name, they all have access to the same data on your computer and are accessed via the same Microsoft account.
In our testing, we discovered that desktop icons are shared across computers, which means that if you delete your shortcut to Microsoft Edge from one desktop, it will be removed from all other desktops.
But the programs and windows that are now active on a single desktop are not replicated on other desktops, and each desktop may also have its own personalized aesthetics, such as a different background and theme.
File Explorer
The file explorer has experienced some position changes and, in reality, is a really underappreciated feature of Windows 11. Especially notable are the revised left panel controls and folder icons in File Explorer, which serve as excellent examples of Windows 11’s new style.
Take note of the simpler ribbon at the top of the screen, which is significantly less crowded and distracting than the old File Explorer’s ribbon. A new folder or document supported by your applications may be created using the New button in the upper left, and the same display choices (list, details, and different-sized icons) for files are accessible as with folders.
File compression, selection, and Properties settings, as well as the old Folder Options dialog, are all available via the overflow menu of the File menu. Rather than becoming longer and longer over time, the right-click context menus in Windows 11 get shorter, smarter, and easier to go through. They now only display the choices that are most often used.
Windows 11 Widgets
Windows 11 widgets are improved. Windows 11 has a new Widget panel, which displays tiles with information like news, weather, market quotations, sports scores, and other information. It isn’t totally new, since the News and Interests Taskbar popup that was introduced lately in Windows 10 is quite similar to the one described here.
We’ve become used to it being located in the Taskbar in Windows 10, and happily, a Windows Insider test release indicates that Microsoft is contemplating restoring this helpful button back to the operating system.
In order to view the same information in Windows 11, you must first choose the Widgets icon from the Taskbar. As an alternative to the first-party tiles created by Microsoft, third-party developers may provide content using the widgets available in Windows 11.
To launch them, touch screen users may just swipe in from the left, and you can expand the widget panel to fill the whole screen if you want a larger view.
A new movie or television program may be discovered with the Entertainment widget, while the Family widget is useful for individuals who utilize the Microsoft Family Safety parental control features.
Windows 11 Settings
When it comes to Windows 10, one of the most vexing aspects is the inconsistency of its settings windows and dialogs. Sometimes you remove an application using the modern Settings app, and other times you uninstall a program through the ancient Control Panel.
When it comes to setting apps as the default for certain file types, it is achieved with the new app buttons. It is virtually completely eliminated in Windows 11 from this discrepancy. Some specific controls, such as sound devices, nevertheless display their content in the old form, despite the fact that the window is designed in the new style.
Aero Peek and Aero Shake are turned off by default in Windows 11, but you can re-enable them in Settings. Light and dark mode options are still available in the Personalization > Colors section of the settings menu, and the modes appear far better than they did in Windows 10, especially the dark mode, which makes excellent use of transparency.
When contrasted to macOS, the dark mode can now hold its head high and be proud of its accomplishments. You can still customize the system sounds in the Settings menu, but the new Windows 11 default collection of sounds is smooth, speedy, and up to date with today’s technology.
Snap Layouts And Multitasking
However, Snap Assist is a more noteworthy new feature in Windows 11, as it simplifies the process of grouping and arranging open applications on your desktop into Layouts. In many ways, it’s a more refined version of a Windows 10 feature — especially, the ability to “snap” windows into pre-configured layouts, which is currently available on Windows 10.
To shrink or maximize any program window on Windows 11, you no longer need to drag them into place (or know the keyboard keys); instead, you just hover your cursor over the minimize/maximize button located in the top-right corner of the window.
A small pop-up window will appear quickly, displaying pictographs of various layout options, such as dividing the screen 50/50 between two apps, or 50/25/25 between three apps, or even giving one app two-thirds of the screen while a second app is squeezed in next to it in the remaining third of the screen.
Windows has traditionally outperformed Mac OS X when it comes to the ability to arrange program windows on the screen, and the gap is becoming even wider with the introduction of Snap Layouts in Windows 11.
You may use this tool by hovering the cursor over the maximize button, which is located at the upper right of any window. When you move your cursor over the maximize button, you will see a variety of layout options, including two windows side-by-side, three windows with one huge and two mini windows, and so on.
Snap Layouts display as alternatives in the Taskbar, allowing you to access either a collection of programs or a single app, depending on your preference. When you launch a collection of programs on an external display numerous times, you’ll see that the layouts are kept.
Android App Integration
According to Microsoft, Windows 11 does a lot of work in memory management to favor the app windows you have open and running in the foreground. Android applications will be made available in the Microsoft Store for Windows 11 via the Amazon Appstore.
The ability to access Android applications on Windows 10 was previously available via a few methods, including using a Samsung Galaxy phone, but this will make it native).
For Windows users, this is something they’ve been waiting for years, and it represents another step toward the integration of mobile and laptop devices. This functionality is currently in beta and only accessible to Windows Insiders, who may test it out.
Microsoft Teams Added
Getting a makeover and being incorporated directly into the Windows 11 taskbar will make it simpler to access (and more similar to Apple’s FaceTime) in the future.
You’ll be able to connect to teams from any device, including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It’s not necessary to use Teams if you have never done so before; you can simply remove the icon from your taskbar and uninstall Teams completely without losing any of its valuable features in the process.
Positive Things About The New Windows 11
A Better Screenshot Tool
Snip & Sketch, a fantastic screenshot application released with Windows 10, is a must-have for anybody who uses the operating system. You could take a screenshot by using the Windows Key-Shift-S keyboard shortcut, which allowed you to choose a portion of the screen (either rectangular or free-form), a window, or the full screen, and then paste it into an image editor.
Instead, a new Snipping Tool is included with Windows 11. In honor of a previous, less functional screenshot tool that was a fan favorite among Windows aficionados, this new tool has been named after it.
Before taking a screenshot, the Snipping Tool allows you to choose an optional timed delay. Aside from utilizing the tried-and-true PrtSc key, the Game Bar, and third-party screenshot programs, there are a variety of alternative options for taking screenshots in Windows 11.
Updated Stock Apps
There are a number of common programs included as well as some new ones, including an upgraded Photos app, the FLAC-capable Groove Music player, Voice Recorder, and two Paint apps (3D and a rebuilt basic Paint), Mail, Calendar, and other utilities.
As Windows 11 development proceeds, we should expect to see significant improvements in the latter two areas listed. Initially, we will continue to use the old applications, although with rounded edges, but future versions will be based on the fantastic Progressive Web App versions of Outlook.com, which are now under development.
Updates to the Paint software (though I’ve grown to like the current Paint 3D), as well as new versions of Notepad (with a dark option!) and the Calculator, have already been teased by Microsoft.
Gaming And New Technologies
Gamer PCs are seldom excluded from significant new Windows upgrades, and the release of Windows 11 is no exception. There are two areas that benefit: game selection and technological advancements.
For starters, the Xbox app embedded into Windows 11 gives you access to the Xbox Game Pass library of video games, which is a subscription service. Among them are titles such as Halo Infinite, Twelve Minutes, and Age of Empires IV, among others. Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft’s streaming gaming platform, is also made available via the app.
It essentially puts PCs on an equal footing with Xboxes, albeit users retain flexibility over how much hardware power they choose to devote to their gaming sessions. It also works well with epic games store and considering the android support coming, there will be games to play that work smoothly for sure.
Jordan Minor, a gaming critic for PCMag, goes so far as to say that Microsoft has turned every PC into an Xbox as a result of Windows 11. Windows 11 includes Auto HDR and DirectStorage, both of which are useful in the gaming environment.
The first widens the color space to display higher clarity even in games that are not high-dynamic-range (HDR). In addition, DirectStorage (a subset of the Xbox Velocity Architecture) may reduce game loading times by bypassing the CPU and enabling graphics memory to load straight from the hard drive. For more info about Windows 11 Gaming check out:
Other Technical Advances
One of the other technological advancements in Windows 11 is Dynamic Refresh, which may help you preserve battery life on your laptop by lowering the high refresh rate of your screen when it isn’t required.
Additionally, the operating system supports the significantly faster Wi-Fi 6E standard. The requirements for TPM and Secure Boot are part of Microsoft’s effort to strengthen the operating system’s security technologies, which is a subject deserving of its own page.
One such article, authored by PCMag’s chief analyst Neil Rubenking and entitled Windows 11 Is Ultra-Secure: Don’t Mess It Up!, is one that you should read. According to typical synthetic benchmarks, the new operating system is roughly on par with Windows 10 in terms of raw performance.
Our hardware experts performed benchmark testing on the same PC with Windows 10 and then again after upgrading to Windows 11. The results showed that the gaming performance and productivity performance were both improved.
The team discovered that Windows 11 works equally well as previous versions, and in certain cases, even outperforms them in terms of frame rates and productivity tests. We haven’t done any performance testing on DirectStorage yet but watch for an article on the subject in the near future.
Enhanced Touchscreen, Voice, And Pen Support On Tablets
The addition of gestures and greater space between icons on the taskbar are two ways in which Microsoft is attempting to enhance the touch experience on tablets.
When using your digital pen to take notes or sketch, you may now hear and feel vibrations, which is a feature that was previously only available in Windows 8.
Finally, the operating system integrates voice typing and instructions across the system. If you own a Windows 11 tablet and detach the keyboard, the taskbar icons will simply automatically space themselves a bit further apart to make them easier to interact with.
Negative Things About The New Windows 11
Hardware Requirements Are Too High
Windows 11’s hardware requirements are too high. Investing in a new computer for a couple of Windows apps is certainly not worth it. At the time of its release, much was made of Windows 11’s high hardware requirements.
People who wish to update their present PC to Windows 11 are the ones who are most affected by this problem. I’ve argued that this is not a situation that Microsoft is really interested in, since the corporation prefers that you purchase a new machine that is capable of running Windows 11, rather than upgrading an existing one.
Microsoft, on the other hand, does not seem to be interested in home computer makers. In contrast to Windows 10, there is currently no opportunity to purchase a standalone license for Windows 11, so individuals seeking to upgrade from Windows 7 or create a new PC will need to first install Windows 10 and then go through the free upgrade process.
However, to be fair, many of the Windows 11 system requirements are really rather low: a 1GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage are all quite sufficient. Those specifications seem like they were written ten years ago. The major stumbling blocks are three particular hardware criteria that must be met.
- The CPU must be quite recent—within the previous three years, at the most
- The computer must be equipped with a TPM security chip
- Secure Boot must be supported by the chip on which it is installed
If you have been beta-testing Windows 11 already and your PC meets the minimum requirements, you should be able to upgrade to the final version of Windows 11 on launch day.
You Must Be Signed In To A Microsoft Account To Use Windows 11
Windows 11 Home Edition requires users to sign in with a Microsoft account, which provides a number of benefits such as single sign-in for Office, backups to OneDrive, syncing settings across multiple devices, full-disk encryption for the system drive, and the ability to reinstall Windows without the need for a serial number, among others.
We dare you to find a single Mac user who does not log into their machine using an Apple ID and forgets about finding a single Chromebook user who does not log into their Google account. People, on the other hand, go insane when they have to login into a Windows account.
Actually, this need is only applicable to the Windows 11 Home version. Windows 11 Pro does not need you to sign in, and we think it will be the SKU that receives the most complaints in any case, given that only the technocratic are interested in such things.
Windows 11 Forces You to Use The Edge Browser
Any browser you open, you will open edge. Just kidding, but the force was never a good thing. Some Windows 11 users are dissatisfied with the fact that they are now compelled to use Microsoft Edge as their primary web browser.
However, this allegation has generated much more attention than it deserves, and it is deceptive. When using Windows 11, you may use any web browser of your choice, albeit certain restricted OS services, such as the built-in search and weather tools, will automatically launch Microsoft Edge.
We are pleased to report that we have successfully installed Firefox and Chrome on the new operating system. Following some early doubts, we’ve grown to love the style and conveniences offered by Edge, which makes Chrome and Firefox seem antiquated and limiting in comparison to their competitors.
By the way, whether you’re using Chrome OS or iOS, or iPad OS, you should experiment with changing the default browser. Cupertino mandates developers to utilize the Apple Safari web browser as the underlying web rendering engine, despite the fact that there are several browsers available in the Apple App Store.
Windows 11’s Start Menu Is Less Usable Than Windows 10’s
The Start button and Start menu have been big causes of controversy with virtually every major new version of Windows, and they remain so. The Windows 10 Start menu, in my opinion, does everything right and is an unappreciated feature.
There isn’t anything comparable on the macOS platform. It is possible to use the launchpad, but it is not as instantaneous and built-in as the Windows Start menu is. We believe it is bad that the new Windows 11 Start menu is based on the Chrome OS launcher, which is the equivalent of Chrome OS.
Because everything is in the lower-left corner of the screen in Windows 10, the menu does not obscure programs that are running in the center of the screen. The Start menu in Windows 10 also provides quick access to the power button, Settings, and folders, all of which are located just above the Start button.
It also prioritizes the most often used applications as well as the most recently installed apps (if you enable this). The Suggested and Pinned app and document icons have been replaced with Suggested and Pinned document icons in Windows 11.
You Need A Third-Party Antivirus With Windows 11
The security expert Neil Rubenking acknowledges that Windows Defender has improved significantly over the previous three years and that Windows 11 increases security, but he maintains that third-party antivirus software is still required.
According to independent malware testing laboratories, the renamed Microsoft Defender Antivirus has mixed results, and it falls short of the competition when it comes to phishing prevention.
The Final Verdict
Apart from a few minor quibbles, we appreciate Microsoft’s continued focus on its flagship program. For the last several years, the corporation has concentrated its efforts on its Azure cloud computing services, which is understandable given the profitability of that division.
Windows 11 delivers a clean new design, handy new features, updated default programs, more capabilities, and performance enhancements over its predecessors. Windows 11 remains a trusted platform module if we forget about window 11’s taskbar, the rounded corners, and the problems with notifications.
Perhaps this will be sufficient to get some Chrome OS or Mac customers to switch. Although it is still early days for the desktop operating system that is already installed on 1.3 billion computers, we anticipate Microsoft fine-tuning and improving the design of Windows 11 in future upgrades.
While Windows 11 preserves the great majority of the features available in Windows 10, it also improves the operating system by including more appealing, contemporary UI elements and new conveniences such as Snap Layouts and Widgets into the mix.
In light of these considerations, despite some growing pains and the unfamiliarity it brings, Microsoft Windows 11 continues to be our Editors’ Choice desktop operating system. We anticipate that in the coming months, default apps will improve and Microsoft will continue to provide enhancements at a regular pace.
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