https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11
After just three months of testing, Microsoft has declared Windows 11 fit for public consumption on new PCs and on a select group of Windows 10 PCs that are ready for the upgrade. On October 5 the upgrade should start rolling out to pc’s in North America.
Is Microsoft using the same, phased rollout approach with Windows 11 that it has been using for Windows 10? Yes. Machines that Microsoft believes will have a good experience running Windows 11 (based on its own telemetry, testing and self-hosting) will be offered Windows 11 first. Microsoft is saying that it expects it will have offered to all eligible Windows 10 devices the option to get Windows 11 by the middle of 2022.
“Our launch approach to Windows 11 leverages the well-established systems and processes used for the 1.3 billion Windows 10 devices we have shipped and serviced for over five years,” Microsoft’s John Cable explains. “We will use a measured and phased process in offering Windows 11 as we have done with Windows 10 feature updates. Our objective is to provide you with a smooth upgrade experience.”
In addition to the handful of new Windows 11-based PCs that are now being sold to consumers at retail, Microsoft will also offer Windows 11 as an upgrade on eligible newer PCs running Windows 10. Then, as in the past, it will evaluate the reliability of the upgrade and increase the number of PCs that can receive it. “Device health data and other signals” will determine the pace at which Windows 11 is offered as an upgrade, Cable says.
Today also marks the start of Windows 11’s new two-year support lifecycle for the Home and Pro editions of the product.
How long will businesses and consumers be able to continue to license/buy/upgrade to Windows 10? Support for Windows 10 will continue through October 14, 2025, and users will be able to license/buy/install Windows 10 up until that time, according to Microsoft. Microsoft officials are not saying at this time if they’ll make Extended Support Updates available for Windows 10 so users can keep getting security updates for it beyond October 14, 2025.
