During the Windows 11 event last week, Microsoft did not tell the exact day on which it plans to ship the new operating system to the public. All we got is mere "this holiday" without much detail. Still, some titbits from the official presentation already point at a possible launch day.
One of Microsoft's Windows 11 promo videos that shows the new OS with its redesigned parts reveals a message notification in Microsoft Teams. Stevie Bathiche, one of the Surface engineers at Microsoft, sends Panos Panay a message with the following text: "Good luck today, Panos! Excited to turn it up to 11... can't wait for October!"
A message might hint at a potential Surface event in October 2021, during which Microsoft will unveil new Surface computers running Windows 11 out-of-box. Microsoft can combine two events and launch Windows 11 alongside new devices.
Advertisеment
Users managed to find another clue pointing at more specific launch date. One of the official Windows 11 screenshots shows the operating system running with a white theme, and the clock on the taskbar shows 10/20/2021, 11:11 AM.
Finally, Walmart mentions "Windows October 2021" in listings of some laptops it is currently selling:
Free Upgrade to Windows October 2021 when available (see below.) Upgrade rollout plan is being finalized and is scheduled to begin late in 2021 and continue into 2022.
While third-party shops are definitely not the most reliable sources to snatch some Windows 11 leaks, all hints combined clearly show that Microsoft considers October 2021 a launch window for its new OS.
Microsoft promised Windows 11 as a free upgrade for existing Windows 10 users, but only if your machine passes compatibility checks. According to official documentation from Microsoft, Windows 11 requires an Intel 8th gen or AMD 2nd gen CPU with TPM 2.0. There is a lot of confusion around Windows 11 hardware requirements, especially if you consider Microsoft employees flexing their Surface Studio 2 with 7th gen Intel Core processors running Windows 11 just fine. Microsoft promises to publish a post with a more detailed explanation of what processor baseline you need to run Windows 11.
The first official build of Windows 11 will come out somewhere this week. If you want to participate in beta testing, make sure to check a dedicated post about upcoming Windows 11 previews.
Support us
Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options:
If you like this article, please share it using the buttons below. It won't take a lot from you, but it will help us grow. Thanks for your support!
Advertisеment
