Windows 11 release date: when can Windows 10 users upgrade to the new operating system?
Microsoft unveiled Windows 11 at an event streamed from its headquarters this week. The all-new desktop operating system boasts an almost unrecognisable Start Menu, performance boost for gamers and access to the Xbox library via Game Pass, interactive widgets, and a dizzying number of new layouts to juggle multiple applications on-screen. There’s also new themes and deep integration with Microsoft Teams.
All in all, it’s a hefty upgrade. And best of all, Microsoft has confirmed that it will be completely free for anyone who is running Windows 10 at the moment. And of course, if you still have Windows 7 or Windows 8 on your machine, there’s still time to upgrade to Windows 10 for free (and therefore get the bump to Windows 11).
But when will users get the chance to see this redesigned and feature-packed new version of Windows, which Microsoft called “the foundation” of the next decade of the operating system used by more than 1.3 billion people?
When will Windows 11 release in the UK?
Well, that depends. Microsoft didn’t reveal an exact release date during its live-streamed keynote, but in the wake of the announcement more details have been revealed. If you’re in the market for a new laptop or desktop computer, chances are, you’ll get Windows 11 before everyone else.
Microsoft says that Windows 11 will launch “later this year”, however, this seems to refer to new laptops, two-in-one hybrid devices, tablets, and desktop PCs with the new operating system preinstalled, rather than upgrades for existing devices running Windows 10. Microsoft usually refreshes its own devices around October or November, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see a new batch of Surface-branded laptops and desktop PCs to showcase the operating system.
