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Windows 11 Tips & Tricks and How To Guide

Windows 11 is out! Here are the New Features and Innovations

Microsoft's latest operating system Windows 11 is out! You can download the new version right now.

After a long wait, various rumors, numerous Insider updates, and discussions about stringent system requirements, Windows 11 is finally out. Microsoft’s new operating system will be rolled out first for fully supported systems and gradually.

While the user interface is completely changed with Windows 11, we will see that changes are made in almost every part of the system. Along with this, various system optimizations and new features are offered.

First of all, let’s start with the official windows 11 system requirements. Microsoft makes these conditions mandatory for those who want to use Windows 11 without any problems and barriers. But as you can imagine, various methods continue to emerge to install the operating system and get all the updates.

What are the Windows 11 System Requirements?

  • 1 GHz 64-bit dual-core processor on the compatibility list
  • 4GB of RAM
  • 64GB of storage
  • 9-inch screen (1366×768 resolution)
  • UEFI Secure Boot
  • TPM 2.0
  • DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WDDM 2.x

Of course, there is also a list of supported processors. It is not possible to use Windows 11 directly with all processors, and since the list of compatible processors is quite long, you can find it at the bottom of the article.

Windows 11 features

Like previous Windows 10, the latest Windows 11 also bring a number of new features and improvements. Here is a brief of windows 11 new features.

New User Interface

One of the biggest changes in Windows 11 is the renewed user interface. Microsoft completely revamped the interface and gave the operating system a more modern look. Window designs generally come with rounded corners and context menus are redesigned.

Microsoft is also upgrading the native app experience with Windows 11. The Redmond giant has made radical changes to the Snipping Tool, Clock app, Paint, Microsoft Office, Media Player, Your Phone app, Photos app, and countless more apps.

Windows 11 new user interface

How is Windows 11 Performance?

Microsoft says it’s optimizing one area to improve performance with Windows 11. They even claimed that Windows 11 is the best Windows OS ever in terms of gaming.

The new operating system primarily features an improved resource management system. At this point, foreground workloads are now given higher priority, while lowering the processing power consumed by background processes.

Windows is now more capable of pausing inactive tabs, thus minimizing wasted system resources. Steve Dispensa says that thanks to the new tab sleep function, the system can have 32% less memory usage and the rate of CPU usage can be reduced by 37%.

 

Microsoft has also been able to reduce the latency between user commands and actual commands executed in hardware by optimizing the code that executes hardware functions. Thus, the response times perceived by the users are improved and the idle time is minimized. This also has a knock-on effect on memory usage and overall performance.

The software giant, on the other hand, says that it has implemented new compression techniques that reduce disk usage in the operating system and has expanded this technique with Windows 11 updates. Microsoft also states that due to the new update engine in 11, updates will not require as many resources as they currently do. Additionally, the community size of Windows updates will be reduced by 40% and the update processes will run faster.

 

Let us remind you that all these improvements can also make positive contributions to game performance. The Microsoft official also touched on the improvements in different areas. For example, systems in sleep mode will now be able to react instantly. Mobile devices will enter sleep mode faster without sacrificing the work done, resulting in additional power savings.

Windows 11 and 12th Gen Alder Lake Processors

We often say that the new operating system will work fully compatible with Intel 12th generation processors. Thread Director technology developed by the blue team will act as a link between the hardware and the operating system.

Intel says it’s working with Microsoft to make sure Windows 11 is optimized for Thread Director. For those using Windows 11 with the 12th generation,  everything is great. However, everything will not be the same in older versions or Linux operating systems.

The chipmaker confirms that there will be no problem for applications and workloads that do not use the maximum 24 threads offered, but everything will work better in Windows 11. It is also particularly highlighted that Alder Lake works well on Linux. At this point, only the dynamic timer will not work to its full potential. Finally, Intel states that they will provide more optimizations for other operating systems.

Android App Support, Store and Win32 Apps

The new operating system comes with a redesigned storefront optimized for all developers. According to Microsoft officials, Windows 11’s native app store will allow almost any app. If we go into detail, it will also include Win32, .NET, Java, UWP and web-based applications.

Microsoft has announced that it will allow developers to add unpackaged Win32 applications (commonly known as .exes) to the Windows Store. Even favorite .exe programs that use proprietary content delivery networks for updates will be allowed.

Windows Store

Microsoft’s store is also completely renewed, and those who switch to the new operating system may have the opportunity to explore the new store.

Android Application Support

As we reported earlier, the Windows Subsystem for Android will not be available to users at the first stage. However, this most anticipated important feature is currently being tested and we expect it to be available soon.

Microsoft said during the developer conference that it will create a local proxy application that will manage the bridge between mobile and desktop models. With these improvements, Android apps will look just like native apps, and users will be able to install and uninstall mobile apps from Settings or Control Panel.

Android app on Microsoft store

Additionally, the Windows Subsystem for Android is based on the Windows Subsystem for Linux, which uses Hyper-V and the Linux kernel to run Linux apps on the desktop alongside your Windows apps.

The technology giant will use a solution called “Intel Bridge Technology” to convert ARM-based microcodes. Microsoft has confirmed in a statement that the feature will also work on AMD and ARM CPUs.

Windows 11’s Android integration will not offer the Google Play ecosystem and support for Google Play services. To make things easier, Microsoft is partnering with Amazon, using the App Store Available on Amazon-branded Fire OS devices.

We mentioned that the Microsoft Store will receive the results directly from the Amazon app store. When you want to download Android applications, you will need to click on the “Get from Amazon App Store” option.

External APK Download

In addition, you may think of the method of downloading APK from external sources. You can manually download APKs from the internet and install them on the operating system. However, apps based on Google Play Store may not work properly, let’s take this as a note.

Windows 11 Compatible Drivers

GPU manufacturers such as NVIDIA, AMD and Intel started to release drivers compatible with Windows 11 early.

Future Windows 11 Updates

Announcing its feature update plan for Windows 11 , the developer announced that only one Windows 11 major feature update would be made available each year, with regular monthly quality updates for security and bug fixes.

In addition to the feature update, Windows Update quality improvements will come with optimizations made to the update engine in Windows. For example, when you check for updates and a new patch is available, Windows will now compare the new package with what is available on the computer. Only necessary parts will be downloaded from the server and update sizes will be reduced by about 40% .

Features Removed with Windows 11

Unfortunately, Windows 11 also removes some of the features currently available in Windows 10. Below is a list of features that Microsoft removed with the Windows 11 announcement:

  • Cortana will no longer be included in the first boot experience or pinned to the Taskbar.
  • Desktop wallpaper cannot be roamed to or from device when signed in with a Microsoft account.
  • Internet Explorer is disabled. Microsoft Edge browser is the recommended replacement and includes IE Mode which can be useful in certain scenarios.
  • News and Interests evolved. Added new functions that can be found by clicking the Widgets icon in the Taskbar.
  • Removed Quick Status and related settings from Lock Screen.
  • S Mode is currently only available for Windows 11 Home edition.
  • The Snipping Tool remains in use, but the old design and functionality in the Windows 10 version has been replaced by the app formerly known as Snip & Sketch.
  • The beginning part received significant changes.
  • Tablet Mode has been removed, adding new functionality and capability for keyboard docking and unplugging situations.
  • The taskbar has changed and you may no longer see some items.
  • The timeline has been removed. Microsoft Edge has some similar functionality.
  • Touch Keyboard no longer pins or unpins keyboard layouts on 18-inch and larger screen sizes.
  • Wallet has been removed.

Who Can Upgrade to Windows 11?

While Microsoft has made Windows available to almost everyone who owns a PC, the company is making some restrictions this time around. So at least “supported” systems will be able to upgrade and receive updates via the upgrade path.

Windows 11 will also be a 64-only operating system. So if your hardware doesn’t support 64-bit, it looks like you’re out of luck.

In addition, we mentioned that only systems that meet the extensive requirements will receive the Windows 11 update.

Is Free Upgrade Possible?

To summarize, the update will be free for existing Windows users. Therefore, Windows 10 users who meet the minimum system requirements can upgrade to Windows 11 for free when the update is ready.

You can check the list above to make sure your system meets the minimum requirements for upgrading to Windows 11. You can also use the PC Health Check compatibility check tool.

How to Upgrade Windows 11?

As with all updates, Microsoft will push the update to a small subset of users before it’s made available to a wider general public.

Users who have received the update can go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check for updates.

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