With the feature update in autumn, a lot is supposed to change for Windows 11. Source: microsoft
The big autumn update for Windows 11 is now finally available for download, at least in the preview version. The update is also known under the name 22H2 and represents the annual function update. In this, major changes are to be made to Microsoft’s operating system once a year.
Like Microsoft im Developer-Blog announced, you can now download the preview version. However, one requirement is that you are a member of the Windows Insider program. If this is the case, you can now find the update at settings
and then Windows Updates
. However, the update is also optional for insiders.
Another requirement is that you meet the hardware requirements for Windows 11. There are quite a few pitfalls here. Although you don’t necessarily need strong hardware, you have to consider a few things. Your PC should have a TMP module in version 2.0. In addition, your processor must be compatible. You can find out which processors are suitable and how you can avoid the system requirements here:
Windows 11 system requirements
Everything you need to know before making the switch
That changes with the fall update
Although the preview version is not final yet, it should come very close to the version that will later be available to the public. The preview phase is used to find and eliminate the last bugs, like a beta version for the update. If everything goes according to plan, the fall update should be released in mid-September 2022.
File Explorer is being reworked: One of the biggest innovations will concern the file explorer in Windows 11. As we already reported in March, it should finally be equipped with tabs. These basically work like browser tabs. If you have multiple instances of Explorer open, you can easily organize them in to tabs and jump between them without having to open multiple windows.
You should be able to personalize the folders again and they will show thumbnails of the files that are in the folder. You can see what that looks like here:
This is what the new preview folders look like in Windows 11. Source: microsoft
The task manager is also renewed
The task manager also gets a major update. At least visually something should change here. It should also make Windows 11 run more efficiently. As we already reported in February, the new task manager also gets a dark mode with the update. It activates automatically as soon as you switch the operating system to dark mode as a whole. It will look like that:
This is the dark mode of the new task manager. Source: microsoft
As a further change, the individual tabs will no longer be displayed on the top side, but on the left side of the task manager. Here the text is replaced by symbols. This should ensure a modern look overall.
With the new efficiency mode Last but not least, you can use the task manager to switch programs to this mode in the future. This ensures that Windows 11 allocates fewer resources to them and, accordingly, uses less of your hardware capacity.
There are also some changes in the start menu. So you can customize it in the future by determining how many apps in the Angepinnt
section and how many files in the Recommended
section are displayed. You should also be able to group pinned programs into folders.
Windows 11 also adds an optimized taskbar for tablets and 2-in-1 devices. This can be enlarged and reduced and is optimized for touch control. It only takes up space when you really need it. It then looks like this:
This is what the new taskbar for touch devices looks like. Source: microsoft
In addition to these new features, the feature update also brings many small improvements. According to Microsoft, the following areas are affected:
- Time and date on all screens
- New notification system
- Changes to Microsoft Teams
- voice control
You can find out whether the switch to Windows 11 was a good idea in the eyes of our author Nils Raettig in his following conclusion on the new operating system:
Six months with Windows 11: was it worth the change?
Does the update bring features that you have been missing in Windows 11? Are there any features you would like to see in Microsoft’s operating system? Please let us know.
