Here’s everything you need to know about Windows 11, including news, features and price details.
Windows 11 is now out and it’s available as a free upgrade for those still on Windows 10. But, before you go grabbing that download, find out all the important information about this brand new OS. We’ve covered all the important questions, such as the operating system’s best features, how to download, and its price and release date. If you want to make the leap already, here’s how to download and install Windows 11. Since it is pretty new, there are some kinks that still need to work out, so take a look at how to fix common Windows 11 problems if you come across any issues. Make sure to also take a look at our Windows 11 review, where we cover all the improvements the new OS has made, from offering an updated, attractive design, to new ways to grab apps as well as better security features. While there is still some room for improvement, Windows 11 is turning out to be a very promising update. And, if you’re currently using Windows 10, it’s free to upgrade to 11, as long as your computer meets certain strict minimum system requirements required for the sake of the operating system’s security. Just bear in mind that there’s still some confusion as to what these system requirements are due to a component called TPM (Trusted Platform Module). Right now, it looks like Microsoft isn’t going to budge on its requirement that your device is equipped with a TPM 2.0 in order to run a fully supported version of the new OS. Now that Windows 11 has been released, let’s take a look at what the new operating system has on offer, from its updated features to the benefits it has for users over Windows 10. Microsoft launched Windows 11 on October 5 as a free upgrade, though some people were able to install it a day early on October 4. Microsoft will be rolling out the update to eligible devices over the coming months, with users being notified when the update is available for them. However, you can also download Windows 11 right now from the Windows 11 download page. Many laptop and PC makers have also confirmed that many of their new products will come with Windows 11 preinstalled. This includes Microsoft’s new Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3 and Surface Laptop Studio devices, which were launched to coincide with Windows 11’s release date. There is also going to be a yearly update of the new operating system, similar to Apple’s efforts with macOS. While Microsoft released a tool that allowed you to see if your desktop PC or laptop will be able to run Windows 11, it was confirmed to be buggy, giving erroneous results for machines that would have no problem in running the update. However, another tool has been released which gives you much clearer detail for how eligible for PC is. There’s been a lot of discussion as to which devices are eligible for Windows 11. Regardless of the TPM requirement, others are simply wondering if they need to look to upgrade their PC or laptop soon. Microsoft has published the requirements for the update which you view below: We have a handy guide on how to download Windows 11, which gives you all the information you need now that the final version has been released. It’s a relatively simple process, as long as your PC meets Windows 11’s minimum system requirements. There’s also an option to downgrade to Windows 10 if you are experiencing issues with Windows 11. This is available in the current Insider builds, but you can only do it within 10 days of upgrading your machine, otherwise a clean install has to be done in order to go to Windows 10. If you’d like to perform a fresh install of Windows 11, rather than upgrading from Windows 10 (or earlier), then you’ll need to download the Windows 11 ISO file. Doing a clean install takes a bit more time, and you’ll need to reinstall all of your apps and restore your files if you’ve backed them up (which you should do before you start), but there are many benefits of doing a clean install of Windows 11. For a start, you’ll get a much better performing PC, and if you were encountering any issues with Windows 10, a clean install can help fix some of these. Over the years your PC’s hard drive may become filled with unwanted apps and files, so a clean install can get rid of all of that. If that’s the way you want to install the operating system, then check out our guide on how to download the Windows 11 ISO for more advice. Some people have found that they are unable to install Windows 11 due to the requirement for PCs to have TPM 2.0 support. This is a relatively little known security feature, but it’s caused some people a fair bit of frustration as they’ve found they’ve been unable to install Windows 11. We do have a guide to enable TPM 2.0 if needed, but you may be out of luck if your PC doesn’t support it. However, there is a way to upgrade to Windows 11 without TPM 2.0, but this should only be done by people who are really desperate to run Windows 11 despite not meeting the system requirements. There may be an occasion however, where you may need to revert back to Windows 10. This could be due to an app not being compatible as yet, or Windows 11 doesn’t take kindly to a component in your PC. Fortunately we have a guide ready that can take you through this, step by step. Windows 11 is a free update for existing Windows users – you’ll need to be online to download, install and activate Home versions, and you’ll need to have a Microsoft account when installing it on or upgrading your PC or tablet. Windows 11 will also come pre-installed for free on new PCs and laptops as well, though you should check before you buy to make sure. In some cases, new laptops and PCs may still be sold with Windows 10, and you’ll have to upgrade for free yourself. Windows 11 product keys for fresh installs will likely go on sale in 2022, but we don’t know how much it’ll cost. It could cost as much as Windows 10 licences originally sold for: Windows 10 Home cost £119.99/$139 and Windows 10 Pro sold for £219.99/$199.99, so we could see similar prices for Windows 11. So far Microsoft has released the hardware requirements for Windows 11, but there’s confusion over TPM (Trusted Platform Module) and whether the company are pushing hard over the minimum threshold for which devices are eligible to be updated to the new version. While we’ve got a handy explainer for you that goes into TPM, hardware vendors can still offer new machines with Windows 11 that won’t need this requirement, albeit with good reason to. Now that Windows 11 is out, and it’s a free upgrade, many people will be keen to download it and try it out. But should you upgrade to Windows 11? In our opinion, for many people it’ll be worth not upgrading to Windows 11 just yet. This is because it’s still early days, and there are several problems that need fixing first. For example, some people are reporting that Windows 11 is slowing down their internet connections. Microsoft is aware of most of these issues and is working on fixes. That means by holding off from installing Windows 11 for a while, you’ll give Microsoft a chance to release updates to fix those problems. Then, when you do finally install Windows 11 in a few week’s or month’s time, things should run much smoother. We also spoke to several industry experts, and they all agree that people — and businesses — shouldn’t rush to install Windows 11 just yet. You may want to have the best of both worlds sometime, especially if your day job involves running both operating systems. Thankfully we’ve put together a guide to show you how to do exactly that. There are improvements across the board in Windows 11, with Microsoft promising that updates will be 40% smaller, and touting Windows 11 as «the most secure release yet». The taskbar is optimized for touch as well as mouse peripherals, and is now renamed the dock. New multitasking features are also on offer thanks to a feature called Snap Layouts, which enables you to arrange multiple windows across the screen, not just side by side, but in columns, sections and more.
