Windows 11 leak gives us a glimpse of Microsoft's next version of Windows
Microsoft plans to reveal the future of Windows next week. A leaked ISO of Microsoft's new operating system, called Windows 11, provides us with a glimpse of what users can expect from the new operating system.
The leak confirms that Microsoft's next version of Windows will be called Windows 11 and that it will ship with a refreshed desktop user interface and other enhancements.
Note: the leaked version is a development copy of the operating system. Changes will be made to the system and it may look different when it first final version gets released.
The leak suggests that Windows 11 won't be an entirely new operating system. Instead, it looks like a cross between Windows 10 and Windows 10X, Microsoft's attempt to create a special version of Windows 10 for dual-screen devices and new PCs.
If you have seen screenshots of Windows 10X or played with the operating system yourself, you will see many similarities between Windows 10X and the leaked version of Windows 11.
Screenshots of the leaked version were published on Tieda Baidu first; the ISO image was leaked later and is not available on various P2p platforms and other unofficial sources.
The leaked build has a centered user interface with a new Start Menu design, but options exist to make it align to the left just like in Windows 10. Live Tiles appear to be gone for good as all pinned programs and links are displayed as static icons in the new Windows 11 Start Menu.
The new Start Menu opens a list of pinned programs and links, and recommendations. The sidebar of Windows 10's Start Menu, which links to Documents, Pictures and the account, appears to be gone. Settings, the account link, and power options are still accessible in the Start Menu, and there is a link to get a list of all applications on the device.
Windows are rounded in the build and menus use a new modern design as well.
Widgets may be making a comeback in Windows 11. Microsoft pulled support for classic desktop widgets in earlier versions of Windows citing security issues. In the leak, widgets are available to display news, weather or calendars on the desktop.
Support for Windows 10 ends in 2025. Microsoft has not revealed yet when it plans to launch Windows 11 officially.
Closing Words
The big takeaway from the leak, at least in its current state of analysis, is that Windows 11 won't be that different from Windows 10. The next version of Windows will feature other changes, including Microsoft Store improvements to make it the universal place for Windows programs and not just Windows apps. Microsoft plans to allow Win32 programs, executable files, to be offered in the Store so that software developers such as Mozilla, Adobe or Google could offer their programs directly in the Store without having to create specific Store versions of the programs.
Now You: what is your expectation in regards to Windows 11?
Next version of Windows is named BUG11. Period.
that UI remind me with Gnome 40 With extension Dash to Panel at Bottom.
They just copy and pasted all the awful features from failed 10X into 10 and called it Windows 11. The new OOBE setup is not helpful. On the left we got a huge picture taking up 50% of the dialog, when it could be used to expand the options on the left wider. Everything we have to interact with is crammed into a small list on the right. More and more scrolling…
The new taskbar and start menu is pretty bad. They didn’t even try. Not sizable or customizable. Round corners don’t look good on Windows but fine on menus. I bet they won’t give us any options to adjust the radius or turn it off. Typical new Microsoft.
Settings nothing has changed, still looks like garbage. Control panel applets still take you to this awful settings app. They should just allow us to choose which one we want to use as default.
After suffering through Windows 10 modern UI mess for the last 5 years, they will probably release it in the same state as it is now. They will take 5 years to fix it all. Just give us back Windows 7 and back port all the back-end changes from Windows 10 into it. We don’t need these crappy smartphone interfaces on our desktop.
The only positive thing I can say about this build is the new sound scheme.
I thought Microsoft said Windows 10 would be their last OS, that they would continue to maintain and update it like what Apple does with MacOS. Why is there a need for another.
Perhaps this will make a lot go to Linux.
Enjoy your telemetry and baked in back-doors. Your proprietary gift from One Microsoft Way.
“Note: the leaked version is a development copy of the operating system. Changes will be made to the system and it may look different when it first final version gets released.”
That’s hysterical.
The release is only a few months away and Windows “development” is slower than a dead turtle. This is the final release and there will be no change from this.
Aw.. the never ending stream of changes keeping people busy with drivel and nonsense makes me believe it’s on purpose as a part of a greater agenda, I’m so looking forward to Windows 666.. :)
Why so much complaining? I can’t believe people whining about every UI change in every software app. I, for example, love the new Firefox and Windows 11 UI. Don’t know about bloatware with win11 but we’ll see when they launch it. I guess the internet is full of dinosaurs who can’t adapt to nothing new.
People will cling to Win10 saying it was the perfect OS and how dare MS present this new garbage to us. Tale as old as time.
Windows Power User Call to Action:
Power users should be watching how much liberty MS plans to give users with this new version. That has been the biggest complaint power users have had with 10. I hope to be in control of updates and any connections with MS servers. I hope they don’t change user chosen settings during MS chosen updates. I hope they don’t over rely on non-transparent telemetry since power users usually turn that off, and thus get ignored. And I hope they don’t resort to reversing decades of standard Windows practice and make the “close” button in the upper right corner actually activate the install, like they did in 2016.
As bad as W10 was for user control, it can still get worse. I hope the new “Store” is not mandatory. I hope we can still install Windows without a mandatory MS account. I hope it at least doesn’t get even harder to multi-boot Linux and other early or non-Microsoft operating systems on computers we own.
Personally, I don’t mind paying for it if they let me control it. I am OK if there has to be a higher tier “Ultimate” version to get all the pro-user functions. And I don’t mind so much what the default settings are, as long as there is the ability to change and KEEP pro-user settings.
MS has to understand that, though power users may not be the largest part of the user base, they are hugely influential in both word-of-mouth and the tech press.
Power users everywhere must also accept our leadership and responsibility to shape a Windows environment for regular users that is a compromise between “it just works” and reasonable privacy.
I encourage all power users to make your voice heard in these early days to shape this next generation of PC computing. Be the adult in the room. There is much that is positive in the current Windows operating system. Also, please do not be defeat-ist and treat anti-user features as a forgone conclusion.
Be vocal. Microsoft misteps with Windows 10 delayed mass user adoption for years! I believe it is in Microsoft’s best interest to listen to us. And if we are strong, they will.
@GoodMeasure,
> Be vocal. Microsoft misteps with Windows 10 delayed mass user adoption for years! I believe it is in Microsoft’s best interest to listen to us. And if we are strong, they will.
You are too ignorant of the real world (publicly traded corporations).
When a corporation goes public and obtains capital, the “shareholders” control the actual rights of the corporation.
Since Microsoft is the world’s largest stock company in terms of total capitalization, it attracts the attention of investors and a “handful of major shareholders” control the real power.
The president of the company does not have any real power, and if he does not conform to the wishes of the major shareholders, he is immediately dismissed.
Therefore, a company cannot ignore the “will of the shareholders.
Even if product users unite and raise their voices, they will be ignored.
The countermeasure is to acquire an absolute majority of the voting shares, if your favorite company, Vivaldi, you might be able to acquire shares and gain real power, since it is a weakly capitalized company but since Microsoft is a huge company, users will not be able to compete with them even if they put their money together.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Investor/
Microsoft Corp (MSFT)
$259.43
-$1.47 (-0.56%)
Volume 37.20 Mil
Market Cap 1953.92 Bil
52 Week High 263.19
52 Week Low 193.55
In any case, Microsoft is an organization that exists to make money for capitalists (investors). The products are a means to monopolize the market, and they are the material for investment decisions (profitability and financial status) to attract the attention of investors. They will never spend development and maintenance costs on a product because If they were to meet the demands of product users, finances and profits would suffer, so would not spend development and maintenance costs on products. Furthermore, in order to continue to increase sales, it is necessary to increase product turnover (replacement demand), and in order to do so, one really wants to “shorten the product life cycle.
It is because of you and many other “naive” people like you that the for-profit companies (companies for investors) Microsoft and Google grow.
Hi owl, thanks (a lot, actually) for responding to my post. I appreciate some of the software you recommend on this site, and find that I often already use it. You frequently champion small developers and open source software from around the world, as do I.
I actually agree with much of what you say. Part of your argument is that companies like Microsoft are overly beholden to investor/shareholders. I don’t believe many here would argue with that. Whenever a company we like goes public many of us groan because we know the users will suffer at the expense of shareholders, and we start looking at other brands. Further, I believe corporations have too much legal entitlement, even being protected to some extent like a human by law. That is far out of balance!
Trust me. I have gone to great lengths in my personal life to minimize the big tech companies in my technology. However; I don’t have blind hate for MS. I am not anti-capitalism. I am pro-balance. I want MS to be successful, and I know they won’t moderate their behavior unless they think it is in their interests. Microsoft may want to change the narrative, but the Windows 10 launch did not go well, largely because of their anti-user attitude. I just want us “users” to avoid calling each other names and unite to put what pressure is possible to motivate the big companies to do the right thing.
And it works. Here, in my opinion, is a concrete example:
When Windows 10 was a new idea and about to impose even worse secure boot restrictions on Linux and other O/S’s, the user base reacted in much the way I am advocating here. And MS backed down a little, reducing the draconian restrictions they had planned.
And part of the success of that collective voice is that it reaches the shareholders. Shareholders tend to pay attention to headlines. Unfortunately, many of the “negative” headlines now regarding the next version of Windows are over trivial UI things that are easily changed. This (perhaps purposefully?) distracts from anti-user concerns. MS would be able to announce that they “listened” and move the Start button’s default position back to the left and the headlines will then say that everything is well. And MS’s stock price will rise. Even in these threads we are going on and on about the tiny UI things that are easily changed.
You are clearly highly intelligent. I know you can see this. Perhaps I AM naive, but I believe users still have some power. We just have to not allow the noise to divide-and-conquer us. Please, don’t be defeat-ist. Keep the attention on the pro vs anti user concerns I addressed in my comment above (mandatory MS accounts, secure boot, updates, telemetry, the Store, etc). Even if you are a Linux user (most of us use both).
(Sorry for the long post. It is approaching the length of one of the browser argument threads!)
Capitalism is not going away. Yes, the shareholders are powerful. But they have to listen, too. That IS the nature of being an investor. It is in our best interests to avoid divisive language and stand up as power users to shape the narrative they are hearing.
Other websites are reporting screenshots with windows having rounded corners and that really makes me happy. I’ve been waiting since 2012 to officially get rounded corners and a non-ugly UI back into Windows. I used Windows 7 until 2019, but since then I had to put up with the blocky flat ugliness of Windows 10.
As long as marketing remains the tail that wags the dog, we users of Windows should not have high hopes for Windows 11 until maybe 2023 as an optimistic guess.
Looks like I won’t need to use TaskbarX to center my taskbar icons anymore :)
Unfortunately, Microsoft has already sent a signal that this will be all about additional telemetry and trying to force people to abandon their local accounts and use their store. Plus some cosmetic changes to make it appear like they did something for the users.
Hopefully, Classic Shell and O&O Shutup10 still work in a couple of years when people are finally forced to shut down Windows 10. I suspect that I won’t be ‘upgrading’ to 11 until then unless there is something significant done to improve Windows as a PC based operating system, rather than continue to try to turn PCs into bulky tablets.
Does anyone think this version will play dvd’s, for free? Or any mediafile with the mediaplayer..And how about natively opening .rar and other formats. Imagine that! Oh and does this version open pictures instantly? I hope we still still get 2 different control panels/settings, maybe add a third one! All jokes aside.. I think they spent 6 YEARS “developing” this, and we get new wallpapers, a few new icons, a slightly different start menu (still horrible) a few things here and there switched around, more and more ads and bloatware, guaranteed more telemetry/snooping etc etc.. But all that is forgiven, because they added the crown jewel..the ultimate in software development in 2021: A STARTUP SOUND! POOOOOOF!! MIND BLOWN!!!!!!
Conclusion: We get NOTHING of any use to anyone, ever, in any user case scenario.
Look at you Redmond, look what you have become. You greedy, fat pig.
KDE has more bugs and is less stable than any Windows, and that is a FACT.
And you don’t have to use KDE! And THAT is a FACT!
So I’m more than a little worried about them making “Windows programs” available in the Store, and not just Windows app.
Does this mean that the Store will become the only way to install software? No more .exe files hosted on the web?? Or just that developers will have the option?
To use the Store you need to have Windows Updates turned on… I don’t want that!
where download the ISO?
Can download Deepin Linux from deepin.org/en. Truly everything new in Windows 11 likely originates from Deepin, like dark theme switching to light theme automatically during the day, etc. Why wait for Win 11 when u can enjoy Deepin rite now?
you can get the Windows 11 ISO at Thepiratebay…
The Linux Deepin developers in China are now laughing their heads off. Every “new” thing here is a Deepin ripoff.
I am planning to switch over to Deepin Linux. The only thing keeping me stuck to MS Windows is coz I need to develop apps, and MS .NET framework is excellent for this. Soon as I figure out how to make apps in Deepin, or even Harmony OS by Huawei, Microsoft can truly kiss their spyware laden OS goodbye!
All the people crying, what are you going to do? Go to Linux? Hahaha.
I am sick to death of MS obsession with changing the appearance of their operating system and calling it a new version, instead of concentrating on making it a secure system. Every time they change layouts and appearance, it’s a ball ache to hunt around trying to figure out where everything is. Their fixation on appearance rather than usability demonstrates a lack of consideration for users. I still say windows 98 and xp were the best operating systems for ease of use. I’ve hated subsequent releases and have boycotted most of them. I hated W10 from the start and never used it. Whoever thought touch screen was a clever development for computer navigation and expected it to be adopted by general users was a buffoon! Hotmail/Outlook is now a joke. Bing sucks totally…even with location enabled, local searches give me results from other countries! Bing maps are out of date. The whole MS Windows thing is collapsing around them because instead of keeping a layout we’re familiar with, and working on the intelligence of the operating system, they want to play with a new look. Well done MS, you haven’t a clue.
Anticipating that in Windows 11 there will be the greatest amount of telemetry and tracking of any operating in history.
I hope they have an LTSC version, as there will be no way that I’ll be installing it until they do.
Whatever this is, it’s going to be bad for users. Microsoft still wants to do the following things:
1. Turn Windows into a heavily locked down Apple OS style platform where everything runs through the Windows Store and sideloading isn’t allowed.
2. Turn Windows into an always online platform with regular check ins.
3. Kill off x86 code in an endless attempt to revive Windows Phone.
4. Refuse to allow Windows to run on unauthorized consumer level hardware, allowing them to dictate demands to hardware manufacturers.
They know win10 is a failure…. And this would be a failure again….
The same walled-garden bloated mess….
This looks really nice. And apparently it’s easy to maintain the old Start Menu by using the Registry.
I like this a lot.
New Windows 11: All the time-wasting bugs of Windows 10, plus 1!
Windows 10 will become the new 7 and XP which people will stick with as long as possible, while 11 will be the new Vista and 8 which will be ridiculed until Microsoft inevitably puts out Windows 12 which will be more akin to 10 but better. It’s literally the same pattern they’ve been following for 20 years.
So they just tacked on this ugly mobile UI onto Win10 NT Kernel from that Win10X discarded build and calling it Win 11. This has to be a joke for real. These new developer division at MS doesn’t know the ways of old days of an RTM (That term lost what it meant with WaaS anyways) Desktop OS. They should have really made 10X for new tablets and ultra light machines and kept Win10 as is. But they hate their own inventions now they are simply copying that’s trendy like Mac OS experience. The Start is somehow worse than Win10.
Now to think about it, they are now forcing Secure Boot and TPM2.0 on this build wonder what will be final real RTM release, mandating them and probably they will block Driver Signature Enforcement ? If that’s the case I think majority will stick to Win10 LTSC, as it seems proper OS at-least, even if it’s EOLed by 2025 vs 2029’s Extended.
Thankfully the Control Panel and Task Manager, Registry Editor all exist, they didn’t touch which is a good sign. Screams just like a new scheme to make OEMs and corporations across the world along with users pay more for this new License.
There is no need to have Secure Boot or TPM 2.0. Running fine even in VMware Workstation Player.
Says Uwe, with Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 enabled…
Yes, running perfectly well on my Lenovo Thinkpad W520.
To be precise: I am running Windows 11 x64 (21996.1.210529-1541.co_release_CLIENT_CONSUMER_x64FRE_en-us.iso) in VMware Workstation Player 16.1.2 with Windows 10 x64 as the guest operating system.
Best upcoming moment of the year! Windows 11 should be the best Windows version ever! :D
Another big fail from Microsoft is what is upcoming. Its like going from 7 to 8 all over again. They have confirmed to lose all touch with reality. I’m hoping this build is early version and none of these changes make it to Windows 11.
No one asked for a dual screen mobile operating system for desktops. All this mobile crap is exactly reason why we hated Windows 10 so much. This is far beyond worse than what we currently have in Windows 10. They stepped all of the taskbar preferences and made the windows round. A teenager on DeviantArt could have made that in a few hours.
Still designed by kids and not by actual professional adults in terms of UI….. Sad we wont ever get a true Win 7 below UI or maybe even be able to wholy customize the UI without hacking the OS.
They should call it September 11.
this is it? lol …so they moved Icons in the middle…wow big changes.
All they have done is move the start menu to the middle of the screen. Nothing new and exciting there.
Apparently this is a UEFI only OS, which means that come 2025 a few hundred billion gazillion Winows 10 computers will have to install linux or get thrown away. Thanks Microsoft!
No, it is not. Works perfectly on non-UEFI machines as well as in VMs. Also no need to have Secure Boot available.
Proof, or it didn’t happen.
Now that WOULD be bad news for a lot of people. In effect, all the pre-UEFI machines that Windows 10 was offered to will lose all support from MS in 2025 if that is the case.
When Windows 10 was launched it was announced as ‘The last version of Windows’.
So why should we believe anything MS says??
A new operating system should be named MS ‘New_name’ not ‘Windows’.
The bad thing so far is that it appears to be a copy of what you already have. Small non-significant changes which make me wonder why I shouldn’t fall into their trap again in terms of purchase, aggressive ad spamming, lots of errors with each upgrade, etc., etc. Maybe I will switch completely to Linux in 2025.
Why they call it Window 11? are they tired of Windows 10 Name?
its just Windows 10 and looks like Windows 10X with lots of Universal Windows Platform apps UWP,
and that’s it!
My first question is that when Windows 11 is made available, will it be shoved down everybody’s collective throats as a mandatory “update”?
My biggest complaint about the Windows 8 / 10 interface has always been the buttons! Flat buttons are terrible! Sometimes they’re ambiguous and don’t even look clickable at a glance. Who thought it was a good idea to make the default button shade a flat dull gray?! If you want gray buttons done right just copy Windows 95! And the blue border on the button in focus looks like it has a ringing artifact around it. It bothers me every time I look at it.
There was a time when Microsoft allotted considerable resources into researching usability and legibility of the Windows interface. ClearType for instance was one of the useful things that came out of this research. But all of this UI design philosophy was thrown out after Windows 7 in favor of just flattening everything and using some Fisher-Price color-scheme for 3-year-olds.
And rounded corners? You mean what Windows 7 and Vista already had? Even Windows XP had rounded corners on the top half of its windows. Why bother changing UI elements only to “rediscover” them again later?
I remember when Windows 10 was still in beta, bringing back Aero Glass was basically the most requested feature with over 50,000 votes. But surprise surprise Microsoft pulled a Mozilla and ignored user feedback. Shocking.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Windows10/comments/3iu6y1/omg_this_is_most_voted_feature_from/
https://web.archive.org/web/20141231001419/https://windows.uservoice.com/forums/265757-feature-suggestions/filters/top
Microsoft has grown by acquiring promising IT companies and potential adversaries; In other words, Microsoft’s corporate strategy is to kick down its rivals and eliminate its enemies.
The things Microsoft has developed on its own are Excel and MS-DOS; Windows is just a copy of its rival’s Mac.
The cost of repeated acquisitions has been enormous, and the company has had to streamline (restructure) its products and management (property costs, personnel costs, R&D costs, etc.), and this is the result.
Microsoft is a for-profit company, and its mission is to serve the capitalists (major shareholders), while the users of its products are merely objects of exploitation. It makes futile for end users to seek justice or ideals from Microsoft. In short, all that matters to Microsoft is the return to its shareholders (higher stock price and dividends).
@Owl
Replace Microsoft with any multi-billion dollar company, and general sense would be same.
“Microsoft is a for-profit company, and its mission is to serve the capitalists..”
Haha nice try Vladimir Ilyich no go back to your mausoleum. ?????-?????
To be fair, it’s true what @owl said.
Here before anyone barks “Windows copying Mac OS”
Actually it’s a KDE clone.
Call it a bark or call it a bite but imitation remains the best form of flattery yet.
You’re old enough Brinkmann to know this wasn’t a “leak” but a controlled release so marketing buzz would be created.
He’s probably wise enough to know you don’t go around making unsubstantiated claims without proof as well.
Wow. Microsoft literally came out and openly called it a “beta release.”
This is how they can gauge public reaction without being held responsible for how horrible their designs are.
Reference source?!