Microsoft operating system: what will change for whom with Windows 11

From today on, Microsoft users can switch to the new Windows 11 operating system. What is different? What does the update cost? What strategy is the US group pursuing?

What changes compared to Windows 10?

The difference to Windows 10 is primarily a cosmetic one. The new design is somewhat reminiscent of MacOS from Apple or ChromeOS from Google – i.e. the two desktop operating systems of the competition. The bloated start menu of Windows 10 is purged and history. The live tiles have disappeared – where, for example, the weather or news used to be displayed. And: The start button and the most important programs are now no longer on the left side of the lower image bar, but in the middle.

What is changing in terms of the technical inner workings?

Those who switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11 will not notice any major differences. The icons in the file explorer are new and much better designed. The windows no longer have any corners – they are now rounded. Nevertheless, there are also changes in the “engine compartment”. In the future, updates should be smaller, for example, and they should be able to be installed much faster in the background than was previously the case – where it sometimes took half an hour to download the update and then you had to wait again for it to be installed was.

What new features are there?

In the file explorer, the icons are now smaller and more beautifully designed. There is a mute button to switch off the microphone centrally for all applications. This is pretty useful when you’re in a video conference and maybe have several apps open – then the microphone is disconnected centrally. Another new feature is that if you work with external monitors on your notebook or have two monitors connected to your desktop computer, the applications are opened again exactly where you arranged them before switching off or shutting down. This is also a significant improvement over Windows 10.

What are the advantages of being able to install Android apps?

You can use it to jump back and forth between mobile phone and desktop, because you can then suddenly install the apps that you know from Android phones on Windows. Some apps are only available for Android and not for Windows. So this is a practical matter. There is only one catch: IPhone users, i.e. the Apple world, do not benefit from this because Apple continues to seal off its apps and, so to speak, hide them behind an artificial wall in its app store. However, this function is not immediately available because it was not completed in time. Support for Android applications will only be available in the coming year.

What is the strategy behind this?

There are currently several competition proceedings and court cases pending against Google and Apple. One accusation is that they seal off their app stores in their mobile phone operating systems and do not allow any competition there. Microsoft says: We have nothing against competition. Windows 11, for example, will integrate Amazon’s Android store. But one is also open to others. You can also install Google Android apps. Microsoft is positioning itself very cleverly and says: We do not isolate ourselves. We want to be a comprehensive platform. Microsoft is thus speculating that it will also attract more users in the long term. The project was developed together with Amazon. The internet giant itself operates an app store for Android apps, thus rivaling Google. Microsoft would at least partially get a foot in the door with mobile apps through this cooperation, because since the end of Windows Mobile, the software giant no longer has its own mobile platform.

Who will get the update?

At the premiere, the system will definitely be available on new PCs. These include, on the one hand, the new Surface computers from Microsoft itself. Also on board are the numerous hardware partners such as Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, Huawei and many others. However, Windows 11 is also gradually installed as a free upgrade on existing Windows 10 computers.

However, only PCs that meet a long list of requirements will be used. A comparatively new processor is required. These are the eighth generation Intel processors, Zen-2 chips from AMD and ARM chips from the 7 and 8 series from Qualcomm. This means that users of older systems with processors from Intel’s sixth or seventh generation as well as older AMD models are excluded from switching to Windows 11. With many models from 2017 and earlier, the upgrade to Windows 11 will also fail because a special security chip has not yet been installed on the computer’s motherboard. This is the controversial Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0.

How secure is the new operating system?

The coming months and years will show whether Microsoft will succeed in curbing the rapidly growing cybercrime with the new Windows 11 in connection with the security hardware of modern PCs. One thing is clear: the combination of Windows 11 and TPM could play an important role in the defense against malware that conquers entire computer networks and encrypts entire databases. The TPM will probably remain controversial, even if it makes the PCs more secure. After all, this architecture allows identities to be recognized more precisely than some users like. In this way, for example, license management of the installed programs could be implemented much more rigidly than before.

What do users do who do not receive an update?

Users who cannot use Windows 11 with their computers do not suffer any short-term disadvantages. Software support for Windows 10 is not expected to end until 2025. Experience in replacing versions that are now very outdated, such as Windows XP, has shown, however, that many private users and also commercial users will probably not take care of a safe replacement in good time.

Is it worth buying a new computer straight away because of the update?

Potential buyers who wanted to get a new PC should – if possible – postpone the purchase for a few months, advise consumer advocates. In the Corona crisis, companies, organizations and schools in particular bought the laptop market empty. Against this background, manufacturers have no reason to offer attractive bargains. The situation could look different in summer 2022.