More than a fresh coat of paint greets Windows 11, the new version of one of the world’s most popular desktop operating systems. It comes almost six years after Windows 10, containing the biggest changes to the 35-year-old operating system. The timing is important. The popularity of PCs has grown drastically because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, Apple is reeling in users with its new M1 chips that are extremely powerful. Google Chromebooks are hot property.

Windows is integral to the success of the Redmond, Washington, HQ-ed company. It first appeared in 1985 on the then-standard 5¼-inch floppy disks. According to analytics firm Statcounter, it held 85 per cent of global market share across all PCs and smartphones a decade ago. Times have changed. Today, Alphabet Inc.’s Android OS has 41 per cent share of the market, according to Statcounter. Lending chutzpah to Windows 11 is how the company promises to make it work seamlessly on touch-screen computers and PCs.

Windows 11 wants to be in the centre of your life, just like the ‘Start Menu’ button’s new location on the homescreen.

‘Start Menu’ gets a nudge

At the heart of the “fresh but familiar” design is the ‘Start Menu’ which will no longer sit at the bottom left of your PC desktop. It has been moved to the middle of the screen, like on macOS or Chromebooks while becoming touch-friendly for tablets. In case you’re uncomfortable with the new location of the menu, there is an option to move it back to the corner.

Of course, Windows 11 is not about cosmetic changes. Switching between apps and how they are placed on the screen matters. Snap layout will be familiar with anyone who’s tried a tiling desktop layout, where applications snap into a fixed, tiled layout. Now you can have, say, two windows side by side or one big window with a few smaller ones floating around it. Once you click on the layout you want, all the windows will snap into that shape. With Snap Groups, a selection of apps you use at once can sit in the taskbar, which can be minimised all together or pop up when you need it.

There is also an option to toggle between multiple virtual desktops, something Mac users will know. For example, you can have work, school, gaming and personal desktops. Switching between them will be hassle free.

Then there’s Windows Widgets. It’s a personalised feed — powered by AI — that slides in from the left-hand side of Windows 11. Built-in widgets include a news feed, weather, and maps.

Windows store welcomes Android apps

Perhaps the most important aspect of your new Windows experience. Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay has said that Microsoft Store has been “rebuilt from the ground up” and makes it easier for developers to host and sell Win32 apps, Progressive Web Apps, and Universal Web Platform apps side by side.

In other words, it’s a big step forward if your favourite app is Instagram, which at present appears clunky on the desktop. Android apps will be downloadable in the Windows 11 store, but it involves one important detail. The apps come via a partnership with the Amazon App Store (used by Amazon’s own Fire tablet devices), which you’ll have to log into separately with an Amazon account.

We are yet to get into the debate around whether people would like to have Android apps on a PC or how Microsoft will tackle security issues that come with Android apps.

Gaming on Windows 11

Microsoft is betting big on gaming. Lately, the company has done a brilliant job with its recently launched Xbox Series X and Series S, plus, it has made an excellent acquisition — ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion; the parent company of Doom and Fallout studio Bethesda Softworks. Four things you can look forward to.

During the virtual presentation, the Auto HDR feature stood out. Originally introduced on Xbox, it expands lighting and colour to a higher dynamic range. Next is DirectStorage, an Xbox feature that allows game assets to stream directly to the GPU, without stressing the CPU. Cross-over and cross-save will allow supported games to be played “seamlessly across devices”. And games can be purchased directly through the Xbox app.

Team spirit

Microsoft Teams will now be integrated straight into the Windows 11 taskbar Sourced by the correspondent

Zoom won the videoconferencing race when the pandemic started but Microsoft and others have closed in on the app. Microsoft Teams has made inroads into our lives and it offers a great experience. Microsoft is integrating Teams right inside Windows 11. You can start chats directly from the Start menu. If the people you are trying to contact aren’t on Teams, you can message them over SMS instead. The move may also cause some confusion over where Skype stands, which too is a video chat and is also owned by Microsoft.

Windows closes on…

Windows 11 will support Android apps (via a partnership with the Amazon App Store) Sourced by the correspondent

• Skype will not be included in clean installs of the new OS. The focus is on Teams.

• The company won’t be including Paint 3D and 3D Viewer on the clean install.

• Live Tiles will no longer be available in the Start Menu.

• Timeline is removed. Some similar functionality is available in Microsoft Edge.

• Quick Status from the lock screen and associated settings are removed.

• Internet Explorer is disabled. Microsoft Edge is the recommended replacement and includes IE Mode.

• Cortana will no longer be included in the first boot experience or pinned to the Taskbar.

Basic system requirements

• Processor: 1GHz or faster with two or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)

• RAM: 4GB

• Storage: 64GB or larger storage device

• Graphics card: Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver

Get your copy…

Your copy of Windows 11 will be available as a free update later this year for Windows 10 users. It’s on the lines of how Windows 10 was free for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. It should be available around the 2021 holiday season, like a neat Christmas gift for geeks around the world.