Easy-peasy! Microsoft took the wraps off Windows 11 today, showing off all the work it has been doing behind the scenes to make it the greatest version of its operating system.
In addition to these announcements for consumers, the firm also detailed the update cadence for IT admins who deploy and manage updates for the OS. These have been outlined in a separate blog post that confirms a number of key points.
First of which is the fact that Windows 11 will follow an annual update cadence.
What this means is that the new OS will receive just one update a year, unlike Windows 10 that has been updated twice a year. Then again, the last few refreshes have only brought enablement packages with no noticeable new features.
While this change is related to the major feature updates, Microsoft will also service Windows 11 with regular cumulative updates. The company highlighted today how it has optimized Windows Update on the new OS to make patches 40% smaller and installation happen in the background.
This is good, as users have been complaining about Windows updates messing with their workflows. Less disruptive updates are always a good thing.
In addition to this change in the number of updates, Redmond is also tweaking the support lifecycle for the product.
Users running Home and Pro SKUs will be supported for 24 months, while Enterprise and Education users will be supported for 36 months. This is in clear contrast to the confusing support timelines for Windows 10 that varied based on when a particular version was released.
Overall, these are welcome developments for both consumers and enterprise users alike. Developments that might push more users and businesses to make the move to Windows 11 sooner than they may have earlier planned.
