Windows 11 Is Coming
Hey readers, we have a huge announcement for you. Recently Microsoft posted an announcement on their blog, which mentions all Windows 10 releases and critical notice. Windows 10 will be retired on Oct 14, 2025. After that, they held an event on June 24th and announced publicly that Windows 11 was coming. Windows 11 will be coming as a new free Windows 10 update for licensed users. If all goes, great Windows 11 is scheduled to be released publicly in Oct 2021.
Here is the fun part, the early testers and developers’ build of Windows 11 got leaked. You can easily download and install the Windows 11 ISO from many torrent sites and install it on your computer. But this leaked version is an in-development version of Windows 11, so the details we share with you are subject to change. If you decide to install Windows 11 on your PC, there may be bugs, and it may not work. So be careful.
Visual Features Of Windows 11
Windows Start Menu
The most apparent changes in Windows 11 when compared to Windows 10 are the visual changes. Microsoft took some inspiration from MacOS and moved the start menu to the center. The new Windows 11 has an overall very glossy and translucent glassy look. Every window and icon has rounded corners and a slight effect of 3D. The most significant change you will see is the start menu. As I mentioned before, it’s in the center now, but the look is very classy and comfortable to use. Upon opening, you will see the pinned, recent, and recommended software in the front. The file explorer is pretty much the same but has new, very cool-looking icons.
Windows Widget Panel
Widgets now have their icon and will now look much more fabulous and more functional. In the widget menu, you can now scroll up and down to see more widgets. You can have many more widgets, thanks to the widgets now being vertically stacked on top of each other. Also, the Start has its icon too. You can search from the Start menu, but now, if you start typing in the start menu, it will trigger the search slightly. The search bar in the start menu, due to the delay, will miss some of your typed keys. I know that is frustrating.
Windows App Store
Another significant change you will see is in the windows app store. The Windows app store got an entirely new experience designed for it, which looks a bit more compelling. Now the windows app store can show movies, series, and TV shows from any streaming service. The best part, you can now download android apps from the windows app store and use them natively on your computer. But instead of partnering with Google, Microsoft decided to partner with Amazon and integrate the Amazon app store.
Functional Features Of Windows 11
A handy new function in Windows 11 is the snap layouts. When you hover on the min/max square, you will see snap layouts custom to your screen size. Now you can choose which layout you prefer for every window. The best part is creating snap groups and saving sets of windows in your preferred snap layout. With one click, you not only change tasks, but you can also now switch whole projects.
If you are using a laptop and displaying the laptop screen on a bigger screen and you have to move for some reason? Well, you can move, no problem at all. Windows 11 now saves your snap groups in the taskbar of your laptop, and once you dock back to that screen size, It will open the same snap group you were using before unplugging. Another huge addition Windows 11 has is the virtual desktops. You can decorate every desktop with different wallpapers and themes and equip them with different apps. This feature will help you not get distracted by anything while working on any particular project.
Windows Teams Integration
Something new that you have in Windows 11 is the direct integration to Microsoft Office Teams. Now you can connect on any device from teams. You can chat, voice call, or video call with anyone on Android, Mac, or any other device from your desktop. The idea is to help anybody connect with anybody on any platform. This feature is a bit confusing because Microsoft owns skype. Yet, they opted to choose Teams as their default chat application. You do get the same cool ringtone from Skype for Teams as well.
Windows For Touch Users
As in the live event, it was mentioned that Windows 11 is made for Touch Users. If you are using a tablet computer, you will see that the icons on the taskbar have a bit more space. The touch targets for resizing and dragging are a bit larger to let you resize and drag easier. The snap layouts are the same, but when you rotate your tablet to portrait mode, they get stacked on top of each other.
When you don’t have a keyboard, you need gestures. You can use the same gestures you use on the laptop trackpad. Now you don’t have to memorize new gestures. The new touch keyboard is very similar to the Android keyboard. You can swipe to type, use the spacebar as a cursor, and enter emojis and gifs.
With the Android similar keyboard, you can also voice type, but Windows 11 has its spin. You can voice type, the AI will punctuate automatically, and you have some voice commands for deleting and other actions. You can view widgets with a simple swipe, and a second swipe will make your widget panel full screen. You can arrange widgets, set and consider preferences, and view the news feed customized for you through AI.
Windows For Gamers
Windows 11 also targets gamers. As Microsoft owns Xbox, they used the technology from Xbox, the auto HDR feature in Windows 11. The Auto HDR feature automatically updates your game’s lighting and pixel quality to a much higher degree. Auto HDR helps you give a better gaming experience without needing the developer to update the games themselves.
The direct storage feature from Xbox series X and S will now be available in Windows 11. Direct storage will let your hard drive load assets directly to the graphics card without needing any help from the processor. Direct storage will make your game’s loading time very fast, as fast as the Xbox. The Xbox Game Pass library is directly integrated into Windows 11 with the Xbox cloud app.
Final Words
From the looks of this even looks like Microsoft now has thought of everyone. From gamers to developers, from casual users to professionals. The focus for the Windows 11 has been upon touch, apps, games, and ease of use. As we have seen in the past, there was a 1 to 1 ratio of Windows. Windows XP was great, Windows Vista was not so great, Windows 7 was great, Windows 8 was not so great, and Windows 10 was great. Let’s see if Microsoft can break this chain of ups and downs. Windows 11 does seem to be a great product. Let’s hope for the best.
For a more technical analysis of Windows 11, visit this blog on Windows 11. For more technology news and updates, visit our technology category.
