Windows 11 to be Available from October 5

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that their latest operating system, Windows 11 will be available to users starting October 5, 2021. The free upgrade to Windows 11 will begin rolling out to eligible Windows 10 PCs and PCs that come pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for purchase.

According to Microsoft, the free upgrade to their latest operating system will be phased and measured with a focus on quality. This means that with this roll out, Microsoft will first offer an upgrade to new eligible devices and then later on will roll out to in-market devices based on intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device and other factors that impact the upgrade experience. The company expects to offer the free upgrade of their latest software to all eligible devices by mid – 2022.

Some highlights of this release:

1. The new operating system comes with a new design with the most notable change being the shift of the Start menu to the center from the traditional bottom left position on the screen.
2. To provide faster access to information new Widgets and a new personalized feed powered by AI have been incorporated.
3. The Microsoft Store gets an all-new design which will make it easier for users to search, discover their favourite apps, games, shows and movies.
4.  The release will also have accessibility improvements which are built for and by people with disabilities.
5. The company also aims to bring Android apps to Windows 11 and the Microsoft Store through their collaboration with Amazon and Intel.

Microsoft also made it clear that Windows 10 will be supported by the company through October 14, 2025 and customers who are using a PC that won’t upgrade or those who aren’t ready to transition to a new device can continue using Windows 10. Microsoft recently announced that the next feature update to Windows 10 will be coming later this year.