Microsoft has announced the official release date for Windows 11. On October 5, Microsoft will start rolling out the Windows 11 to eligible “new” PCs first followed by the older eligible PCs in a phased manner. The upgrade process will continue until all eligible devices are covered by mid-2022.
Microsoft has also announced that PCs pre-loaded with Windows 11 will start to become available for purchase on October 5. Microsoft has attributed its decision to treat new PC owners with Windows 11 upgrade first to factors like “intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of device and other factors that impact the upgrade experience”.
Rolling out the free upgrade to Windows 11 in a phased and measured approach
The free upgrade to Windows 11 starts on October 5 and will be phased and measured with a focus on quality. Following the tremendous learnings from Windows 10, we want to make sure we’re providing you with the best possible experience. That means new eligible devices will be offered the upgrade first.
The upgrade will then roll out over time 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. We expect all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022. If you have a Windows 10 PC that’s eligible for the upgrade, Windows Update will let you know when it’s available. You can also check to see if Windows 11 is ready for your device by going to Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates*.
Microsoft has earlier confirmed that Windows 11 upgrade will be a “seeker” one, meaning those interested to get it, need to check for update manually and then chose to upgrade. Your PC obviously needs to be eligible for the the upgrade.
Windows 11 new features/changes:
For those interested, Windows 11 update release will be known as Windows 11 October 2021 update or Windows 10 version 21H2 and is targeted at a October 2021 release. Windows 11 brings lots of UI/UX changes and new features over Windows 10.
You can read all the new features and changes that Windows 11 brings over Windows 10 in our massive collated changelog.
