Windows 11 finally has a release date and it’s coming sooner than you think

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Microsoft has finally let us know when Windows 11 is going to release, and it’s pretty close to where we thought it would be. Announced in a blog post earlier today, the next version of Microsoft’s operating system will be coming on October 5.

That’s even sooner than we thought when an early easter egg was found in a screenshot conversation on Microsoft Teams that pointed to an October release, and a further possible easter egg in Windows 11 marketing images showed an October 20, 2021 date.

PCs and laptops with Windows 11 preinstalled will start shipping on October 5. The upgrade from Windows 10 on existing devices will also start at that time, but only for “new eligible devices” to begin with.

Then, the upgrade will be offered to other existing devices, based on “in-market devices based on intelligence models that consider hardware eligibility, reliability metrics, age of the device and other factors that impact the upgrade experience.” Microsoft thinks that the roll-out will be complete for eligible devices by mid-2022.

Oh, and in case you want to know the minimum requirements, so you can plan to upgrade? You’ll need the following:

• Processor: 64-bit capable 1GHz processor (dual-core or better)
• RAM: 4GB
• Storage: 64GB
• System firmware: UEFI, Secure Boot capable
• TPM: Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
• Graphics card: DirectX 12 compatible or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
• Display: High definition (720p) greater than 9 inches diagonally, 8 bits per color channel

It’s almost a shame that Windows 11 is coming early, as the 11.11 date would have been perfect. Still, that means you’ll get your hands on the latest operating system in no time at all.

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Editors’ Recommendations:

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.