Windows 11 (original release)

Windows 11 is an upcoming major version of Microsoft Windows that has been announced on 24 June 2021 and that succeeds the Windows 10 series. Its initial Cobalt-based release is expected to be generally available in late 2021 as a free upgrade over Windows Update. It includes a refreshed user interface based on the Sun Valley effort, as well as other minor improvements over Windows 10 May 2021 Update. The new version drops the 32-bit x86 version, leaving only AMD64 (x64) and ARM64 target platforms, although 32-bit user applications are still supported via WoW64. The AMD64 version now also requires a system with UEFI firmware that supports the Secure Boot specification and includes a Trusted Platform Module, which has been met with controversy as it leaves many older systems that fully support Windows 10 ineligible for the free upgrade.

History
Rumors of a new major version of Windows were initially sparked by comments made by Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer, and Satya Nadella, chairman of Microsoft, both talking about a next generation of Windows. "Soon we will share one of the most significant updates to Windows of the past decade to unlock greater economic opportunity for developers and creators. I’ve been self-hosting it over the past several months, and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows. Our promise to you is this: we will create more opportunity for every Windows developer today and welcome every creator who is looking for the most innovative, new, open platform to build and distribute and monetize applications. We look forward to sharing more very soon."

- Satya Nadella at Microsoft Build 2021

References to a potential new version have leaked in Microsoft documentation weeks before the official announcement, including a mention of "Windows Sun Valley" in a description alongside Windows 10, telemetry documentation showing two separate updates both bearing the 21H2 version number, or a Windows 11 reference in accidentally published internal Azure taxonomy documentation. The aka.ms/windows11 redirect has also been found to exist in late May 2021, similarly to redirects for other major Windows releases.

A special event was held on 24 June 2021 where Microsoft officially announced Windows 11. Despite the company's great efforts to prevent any leaks prior to the event, build 21996 was leaked online on 15 June, nine days before the keynote. The build includes Windows 11 branding, as well as a new Start menu and taskbar reminiscent of Windows 10X together with redesigned user interface widgets. However, the Cherry Hill experience pack, which also forms a big part of the user experience redesign, was not included with the leak.

Criticism
Following the announcement of Windows 11, the new version has been criticized for its large increase in minimum system requirements. According to Microsoft, the new operating system requires a 64-bit system with UEFI firmware that supports Secure Boot and includes a TPM 2.0 module. Additionally, the company has released a list of compatible processors, which notably only includes Intel's Coffee Lake family CPUs and newer, as well as AMD's Ryzen 2000 series and newer. The new requirements have been called out as artificial as they exclude many older computers from the Windows 11 upgrade on the premise of being old, even though they would likely be able to run Windows 11 with little to no performance issues.