Windows 11 release date announced; No Android app support at launch

It's official: Microsoft has announced that it will begin rolling out the free Windows 11 upgrade for compatible PCs on October 5.

The rollout will be phased out, the company said in a blog post announcing the release date, beginning with new PCs, then moving on to other eligible devices based on, it said, "intelligence models that support hardware match the competency, reliability metrics". , consider the age of the device and other factors that may affect the upgrade experience."

Microsoft expects to complete the upgrade by the middle of 2022.

As previously announced, many PCs will not be eligible to receive Windows 11; Hardware requirements don't stay higher than older PCs. Intel processors must be 8th generation or newer with TPM 2.0 (also supports a restricted set of AMD processors). Although Microsoft slightly annoyed the user by saying that it would allow Windows 11 to be installed from a system image on systems with older processors, it also warned that those systems would be unsupported, and would be updated via Windows Update. will not be eligible to receive

In other words - don't do it.

One highly anticipated feature won't be available at launch: the ability to run Android apps in Windows (from the Windows Store via the Amazon Store, not from Google Play) is still a work in progress. Microsoft says it will enter a preview "in the coming months."

Along with today's Windows announcement, Microsoft also announced new Endpoint Analytics features in Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and said that with the release of Endpoint Manager in September 2021, customers will be able to build Windows 11 for all managed PCs (or in the absence of it). be able to assess. .

For PCs that aren't centrally managed, the company promised it will re-release its PC Health Check app "soon" so users can confirm whether their computers are eligible for the upgrade. The app was pulled in June after shouting about the lack of user-provided information; Upon release, it is called only when a machine passes or fails a compatibility test, and users demand specifications.

Finally, Microsoft said, "For customers who are using a PC that won't upgrade, and who aren't ready to transition to a new device, Windows 10 is the right choice. We're on track until October 14, 2025." We're on track." Windows 10 will be supported, and we recently announced that Windows 10's next feature update is coming later this year. Whatever decision you make, we are here to support you and provide you with choices in your computing journey. Committed."