GAC: Mainstream support ended on October 8, 2024 Extended support to be announced. Version 24H2 LTSC: Mainstream support until on October 9, 2029 Extended support until October 10, 2034.
Windows 11 is the latest major release of Windows NT, the succesor to MS-DOS based Windows operating systems. It is available by ISO, installation assistant or as a free upgrade from Windows 10 on Windows Update for any desktops, laptops or all-in-ones that meet the system requirements. It is the successor to Windows 10. It is the first version of Windows to drop support for 32-bit processors.
As of September 2024, Windows 11 is the second-most popular Windows version after Windows 10, Windows 11 has 32% of usage share.[4]
Windows 11 also added some really high system requirements.
System Requierments
Components
Required (according to Microsoft)
RAM
4 GB
CPU
x86-64
Storage
64 GB
BIOS/UEFI
GPT, UEFI, Secure Boot capable
TPM
TPM 2
Features added
Widgets: Widgets in Windows 11 are compact, customizable information panels that offer quick access to many types of content and services, improving user productivity and convenience.[5]
Android app support: This feature lets users install Android apps from the Amazon Appstore onto their Windows 11 device.[6]
Version history
2021: Windows 11 21H2 (Build 22000) released on October 4, 2021.[7]
2022: Windows 11 22H2 (Build 22621) released on September 20, 2022.[7]
2023: Windows 11 23H2 (Build 22631) released on October 31, 2023.[7]
2024: Windows 11 24H2 (Build 26100) released on October 1, 2024.[7]
Versions
There are 8 versions of Windows 11, these are:
Windows 11 Professional
Windows 11 Pro is for professional home users and has more features than the Home edition, like: more networking and security features such as being able to join a domain and BitLocker for drive encryption.
Windows 11 Home
Windows 11 Home is for home users and has less features than the Pro edition.
Windows 11 Education
Windows 11 Education or Edu is for students, and may have limitations based on your school.
Windows 11 Pro Education is for student users, It has more features than Windows 11 Education.
Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
This is just Windows 11 Pro, but its made for Workstation PCs or Workstation servers. It has the same features as Pro Edition but may have options for workstations.
Windows 11, but without MS Store and other bloatware. End-Of-Life in LTSC builds start later than in normal versions. Mostly used by businesses/enterprises. [8]
Reception
Before release
The reception of the operating system before release was seen as positive with critics praising the new design of the operating system seeing it as a productivity boost.[9]
However, critics also made negative comments on Windows 11 due to the high system requirements needed to run the operating system.[10] The high system requirements meant that more then 60 percent of computers could not upgrade to Windows 11[11] which made concerns about how the operating system could cause millions of people to throw away their computers.[12]
Launch
The operating system's reception after launch was seen as negative as many critics criticized on how it sacrificed productivity for looks and the system requirements of the operating systems.[13][14]
However critics praised the design of the operating system and the adding of Android app support to the Microsoft Store using the Amazon app store.[15] The operating system was also praised for increasing game performance in demanding titles and adding features from the operating system ran on the latest Xbox consoles.[16]
