- New features in Windows 11 include multitasking capabilities, AI integration, and a sleeker interface.
- Gamers can take advantage of improvements like Auto HDR and DirectStorage.
- However, many computers cannot be upgraded due to strict hardware requirements.
After 10 years, Microsoft has finally stopped supporting Windows 10. For most people still using Windows 10, the most obvious step is to upgrade to Windows 11. Windows 11 includes many cutting-edge new features and design choices that are in line with Apple and Google’s minimalist, AI-driven approach.
However, hardware requirements will also increase significantly, and some of the most popular features will be removed.
Microsoft has answered the question of whether you should take the next step and upgrade from 10 to 11 (you should!), but if you’re still on the fence, or have already upgraded and want to see what’s new, here’s your guide.
May I have an upgrade?
Let’s start with the important ones: you You may not be able to upgrade to Windows 11.Microsoft’s advanced security approach requires the installation of the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 chip in Windows 11 PCs, and its minimum system requirements include a relatively new 64-bit processor,
This means that until October 14, 2025, millions of older (but fully functional) computers will still be without security updates, but there is a solution. Basically, if you own one of these older cars, you’re going to have some tough decisions to make. Buy a new computer and contribute to the global accumulation of e-waste, or stick with Windows 10 and face increasing cybersecurity risks.
Of course, TPM requirements have their benefits. Windows 11 has a very strong defense system, which is very important as one of the most hacked operating systems in the world.
Secure Boot cryptographically authenticates the operating system before booting, and virtualization-based security protects critical network security components in Windows. All of this adds up to making hacking very difficult, which is a good thing. Unless you are a hacker.
In addition to the TPM chip, you’ll need at least an 8th generation Intel processor or an AMD Ryzen 2000 series 64-bit processor. These chips have been used in computing since the late 2010s, and there are millions of computers that still work fine on this old hardware.
Mica and its shapes
if you he can After upgrading, you will get a completely new interface in Windows 11. The latest developments in Fluent Design, introduced in Windows 10 in 2017, make Windows 11 more similar to ChromeOS and macOS, centralizing the taskbar and consigning Windows 10’s attractive Live Tiles to the dustbin of history.
You can no longer move the taskbar to the top or side of the screen, but at least the Start menu doesn’t look like a Black Friday equivalent of Times Square.
It might seem ironic for an operating system called Windows that Microsoft would shy away from transparency, but Mica, the design language of Windows 11, does exactly that.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how it works and what’s so special about it, but Windows 11 itself sets the color of the active window to the base color of the desktop wallpaper beneath it. So if your wallpaper is the classic Windows XP clear sky and grass photo, your application will be blue on the top half of the screen and green on the bottom half.
This does not mean that windows or window effects have completely disappeared. Floating elements like the start menu, notification bar, and widget bar (news bar) break up the wallpaper beneath them.
The final beauty is the smoke. This feature works when a popup appears, giving native apps a blurry gray color reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution.
Although these changes are minor, Microsoft’s goal is to simplify the user interface and make it consistent while reducing system resources. This may seem a bit strange considering Windows 11’s high system requirements. But there’s no denying that the combination of Microsoft Oreo’s soft and hard textures makes it the best-looking version of Windows to date.
Click
Just as Apple’s macOS took on the challenge of ChromeOS and Windows’ split panels, Microsoft took it a step further with Snap Layouts and Snap Groups.
By dragging a window to the top of the screen, you can use layout snaps to choose from preset settings, such as one large panel and two smaller panels on top of each other, or a Hieronymus Bosch-style triptych.
Once you’ve completed your valuable custom design, Snap Groups saves those windows under their icons so you can switch to another full-screen app or Snap Group without losing the original app or Snap Group.
In the age of vertical video and widescreen displays, Microsoft’s approach to multitasking makes sense.
Your artificial intelligence companion
Cortana is dead. Long live the co-pilot. Microsoft’s AI interface used to be available as a standalone app in Windows 10, but Copilot’s integration with Windows 11 is more convenient and simpler, even though it has become as deep into the fabric of the operating system as a fungal infection.
In Windows 11, Copilot now has its own taskbar icon and even a keyboard shortcut for quick launch (window key , and), the ability to understand what’s happening on the screen and control individual elements, such as turning off Bluetooth or adjusting the volume.
CoPilot’s AI skills are powered by CoPilot+ computers and tablets equipped with custom Neural Processing Units (NPUs). Recall (now a subscription feature after some controversy) remembers almost everything you do on your computer and lets you access it in natural language, so you can ask which coffee shop you visited last week or find a specific document you were working on.
Click to Go provides overlays and quick actions for text and images on the screen. Paint 3D support has been discontinued, but Paint’s new CoCreator adds text and drawing capabilities to images.
Finally, Microsoft introduced AI-driven automatic super-resolution. This improves detail and frame rates for supported video games.
the power of play
Speaking of gaming, Windows 11 offers several new features for those who prefer to use a controller or combine a mouse and keyboard.
Auto HDR (High Dynamic Range) was originally an Xbox feature designed to improve the quality of games that weren’t designed with HDR in mind. Auto HDR was tested in Windows 10, but its system-wide implementation in Windows 11 delivers solid, reliable results in many games and also includes a strength slider for customizing the look.
DirectStorage is another gaming feature that made headlines many times in Windows 10, but it’s going to take center stage in Windows 11. DirectStorage uses the latest NVMe SSDs, DirectX 12 GPUs, and a new optimized storage stack to bypass the CPU when decompressing game assets and sending them directly to the GPU, reducing boot time and freeing up resources.
Bottom taskbar
For Windows 11: In addition to clearly defined hardware requirements, Microsoft seems to be happy to accept customer requests.
Windows 11 originally didn’t have a search bar on the taskbar, but it was brought back due to customer complaints. In short, privacy concerns arose when users noticed that it was taking screenshots every few seconds, so Microsoft removed it and later made it available only via subscription and as part of Copilot+.
Microsoft made mistakes, but honestly, it seems to have gotten back on track pretty quickly. So Windows 11 today may not be the same as Windows 11 tomorrow.
So if your computer can run Windows 11, upgrading is easy. If you can’t do that, Windows 11 offers a shiny new interface and useful new features so you don’t have to buy a new computer.
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