Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft Corp., speaks during the Windows 10 Devices event in New York on October 6, 2015. Microsoft Corp. unveiled its first laptop, three Lumia phones and a Surface Pro 4 tablet, the first indication of the company’s revamped hardware strategy three months after saying it would cut back on plans to make its own smartphones.
John Taggart | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Microsoft said Tuesday that it will begin offering free upgrades to Windows 11, the next version of its desktop operating system, for eligible computers on October 5th.
Windows, originally released in 1985, remains a key piece of Microsoft’s business. In the second quarter, Windows earned $ 6.6 billion in revenue, representing 14% of the company’s total software and hardware revenue. A successful release of Windows 11 could further secure the future of the franchise, which could also benefit other parts of Microsoft’s business, such as Azure and Office.
As it did in previous updates, Microsoft will use device data and other factors to determine which devices will get the offer to upgrade first, wrote Aaron Woodman, CEO of Windows Marketing, in a blog post.
On computers running Windows 10, which may include the components needed to run Windows 11, the Windows Update feature will notify users when the update is available. People can also go to Settings> System> Windows Update to manually check if the update is ready.
Woodman noted several Windows 10 computers that people can buy now and upgrade to Windows 11 later, including the Dell XPS 13, HP Specter x360, and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro, as well as Surface Pro 7’s own. Microsoft.
Windows 11 offers a modern look, with rounded corners and application icons displayed in the center of the taskbar. The new sounds are designed to be less discordant. Microsoft redesigned the Start menu, the App Store, and the Settings app, and it’s easier to organize multiple on-screen application windows. And Android apps will be available through Amazon’s Appstore. The update comes as Microsoft faces growing competition from Chromebooks running Google’s Chrome OS and Chromebooks being able to run Android apps.
And Windows 11 will face a popular version in the form of its predecessor. Microsoft released Windows 10 in 2015, making it the longest time a version of Windows has been on the market before it was replaced. It has become the most popular PC operating system in the world, with 1.3 billion monthly active devices. Microsoft will continue to support Windows 10 until 2025 and the company suggests that people stay on it if their PC can’t run Windows 11 and doesn’t want to buy a new PC.
On June 24, Microsoft announced Windows 11 as the successor to Windows 10 and made it available to testers enrolled in the Windows Insider program four days later. Since then, Microsoft has released seven incremental updates that contain feature changes and bug fixes. The company is now preparing to make the final version of Windows 11 available to many more customers and for device manufacturers to start selling new PCs running the operating system.
Microsoft said last week that it will support Windows 11 when run on several PC processors, including Intel chips manufactured since 2016. The company expects all devices that meet Windows 11 requirements to receive the free update in mid-2022, Woodman wrote.
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