Also: Best Windows 10 laptop in 2021 With this next release, Microsoft has a formidable task ahead of itself. Many IT pros don’t want Windows to change much because of user retraining and increased help requests. That means tweaks need to be made in ways that don’t cause the kind of pushback and, ultimately, failure, that happened with Windows 8. At the same time, Microsoft is looking to compete with both Apple and Chromebook makers with this release, and the needs and desires of users running those two types of devices are quite different. (Windows 10X was going to be Microsoft’s ChromeOS-compete platform, but Microsoft has tabled it, seemingly indefinitely.) Ahead of the June 24 event, here’s what we know (and don’t) so far about Windows 11: I’m more intrigued about Microsoft’s reasons for deciding to move to 11 now. Think this through: One of the best ways to try to entice users, especially consumers, to buy new PCs is to be able to claim there’s something new and better powering them. Many users have been content to keep using their existing Windows PCs with incrementally updated versions of Windows 10 over the past few years. Microsoft and its OEM partners are counting on a “new” Windows campaign to help sell brand-new PCs this holiday and beyond, from what I’ve heard. A build of Windows 11, dating back to the end of May, which leaked to the Web last week, has led many to assume that the “Sun Valley” UI/UX tweaks to Windows 11 are the bulk of what will be new in the Windows 11 release. The new UI looks largely like what Microsoft had planned for the now-cancelled Windows 10X, with a centered Start menu and dock. It’s also looking like Teams Chat could replace Skype and the Skype “Meet Now” feature in Windows 11. That’s not too surprising, given Microsoft seems to be intent on getting more consumers to use the personal chat/video/calendaring and other features in Teams. Microsoft watcher Albacore (@thebookisclosed) on Twitter said s/he thinks Microsoft is readying two 21H2 branches: One based on the old “Vibranium” code base and another on the newer “Cobalt” one. The former will be the 21H2 update to Windows 10, which will likely be yet another very minor release delivered via an enablement pack, while the Cobalt one will be Windows 11, which will be primarily aimed at consumers this calendar year. We aren’t sure how much (if any) of Windows 11 will be delivered via Windows Feature Experience Packs in addition to Windows Update channels. Former Microsoft Principal Program Manager Michael Niehaus discovered there are some new items in the Windows 11 Feature Pack, including some composable shell and search UX elements, plus files supporting a new “Get Started” app. I’m hoping Microsoft sheds some light tomorrow on how it plans to support non-UWP apps in the Store. Officials have hinted that Microsoft was working on some sort of app certification/trust mechanism that would guarantee any apps users download from the Store or not would get the Microsoft seal of approval.
