Loved or hated, Windows 10 has settled in as a well-rounded and stable operating system for business and home use. It was a breath of fresh air back in July 2015 when compared to the awful modernisation attempts that Windows 8 brought in over the much-loved Windows 7 back in July 2015. Most business stuck with Windows 7, finally jumping to Windows 10 when 7 finally went end of life a couple of years ago.
Windows 10 was initially touted to be the last ever version of Windows, updating eternally without needing a repurchase like MacOS, and over the 6 years since release it has evolved with new features however Windows 11 was formally announced on the 24th of June and will be available as a free upgrade for Windows 10 users if their machine hits the spec requirements – expecting to release around October 2021.
Windows 11 looks to be more evolution than revolution, looking and feeling very similar to the outgoing Windows 10 (don’t panic – Windows 10 will still be supported until 2025) but with a cleaner interface and some definite hints of MacOS.
However, Microsoft appear to be putting security and performance at the core of the new Windows with minimum hardware requirements including:
- TPM 2.0 (trusted platform security module) which would indicate a possibility of storage encryption as a default through Microsoft’s Bitlocker.
- Minimum processor from 2018 or onwards (Intel 8th generation or AMD equivalent).
- Directx12 capable graphics.
These requirements will rule out many older machines from upgrade however most newish kit from within the last 3-4yrs should cope, and with support for Windows 10 for another 4yrs this should allow for hardware refreshes without risk of security holes.
Windows 11 is currently in Beta testing, with users on Microsoft’s Insider Preview program able to test and learn the new OS (where their hardware is up to specification). This leaves final system requirements open to change until later in the year.