The launch date for Windows 11 is starting to get confusing.
Last Thursday, Microsoft introduced the next-generation OS, and told the public it’ll arrive for existing Windows 10 PCs as a free upgrade “this holiday.”
But a day later, the company’s official Twitter account for Windows began telling individual users the wait will actually be longer. “The rollout of the upgrade to Windows 10 devices already in use today will begin in 2022 through the first half of that year,” the tweets say.
The tweets also suggest that to get Windows 11 before year’s end, you’ll have to buy a new PC loaded with the OS once they go on sale during this holiday season.
Microsoft’s public relations team tells us they’re aware of the tweets from the official Windows Twitter account. But so far, the company hasn’t commented on the discrepancy.
The disparity is glaring since Microsoft’s chief product officer, Panos Panay, penned a blog post that specifically says: “The free upgrade will begin to roll out to eligible Windows 10 PCs this holiday and continuing into 2022.”
But don’t expect every Windows 10 PC to be eligible for the upgrade. The other catch with Windows 11 has been the higher system requirements. According to Microsoft, the OS won’t support AMD and Intel processors launched before late 2017, disqualifying a four-year-old PC from Windows 11. But whether this CPU requirement is a strict cut-off remains unclear.
The other requirement is the need for a security technology called TPM, which isn’t always activated by default. To do so, you’ll need to dig into your PC’s BIOS settings.
Overall, Microsoft’s messaging around Windows 11's requirements and launch dates has been messy. In the meantime, the company is preparing to release the first preview builds for Windows 11 this week to the Windows Insiders Program. That means Windows 10 users can still get early access to the betas for the new OS, despite the system requirement and launch date limitations.