Windows 11 Release Date Revealed

Microsoft has confirmed Windows 11 will start rolling out as a free upgrade from October 5th, 2021. Users of older machines may have to wait until mid-2022, however.

There will be some overlap with Windows 10, further blurring the lines of whether Windows 11 should be treated as a totally new operating system or the latest updates to what was supposed to be a "forever" system.

The semi-annual major update to Windows 10 will still come out this fall, but Microsoft isn't promising anything else other than a guarantee of security updates and support until October, 14 2025. Windows 11 will only get one major update each year.

Wait In Line

Although October 5th is the official launch date for Windows 11, it will only be available then as a pre-installed option on PCs from retailers, or as an automatic upgrade on the most recent PCs. Microsoft says anyone thinking of buying a new computer in the next few months can safely go ahead now, run Windows 10, then upgrade free of charge in October.

Everyone else will have to wait for an automated upgrade with their place in line "based on intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device and other factors." The plan is that all compatible PCs will get the automatic update by the middle of next year. (Source: windows.com)

Manual Upgrades a Mixed Picture

In practice, that likely means Microsoft wants to install it first on the machines least likely to experience problems. While annoying to some users, that makes sense as it means Microsoft can more readily any identify major issues that will cause widespread disruption. It also limits the chance of a bad first impression that's hard to shake off.

Regardless of the automated schedule, users will be able to manually upgrade at any point by downloading an ISO format file. In theory this will even work on machines that don't meant Microsoft's compatibility checklist, though there's no guarantee that such machines will get security or feature updates later on, so it may be a very short-term fix. (Source: arstechnica.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Is Microsoft taking the right approach to the schedule? Will you manually install Windows 11 rather than wait for the automatic upgrade? Are you happy with how Microsoft is treating "incompatible" machines?