All people hates Home windows 11, proper? Okay, that’s unnecessarily harsh, however should you browse round a couple of fashionable on-line boards, it’s an opinion you’ll definitely see expressed right here and there. It’s positively true that Home windows 11 stays considerably unloved, and adoption of the OS has lagged means behind the velocity with which PC homeowners jumped on the Home windows 10 bandwagon.
Nonetheless, Home windows 11 is much from a foul working system – that is no Home windows 8 or Home windows ME – and in reality it has an excellent few strengths. And so far as I’m involved, the time is true to improve as subsequent 12 months rolls in, on account of two essential components.
Firstly, the sands of time are operating out for assist in 2025. And secondly, Home windows 11 24H2 has simply introduced in some nifty introductions. There are different explanation why I’ve determined to make the leap and migrate to Home windows 11 because the New 12 months begins, so let’s dive in and discover them.
1. It’s time to behave, whereas there’s nonetheless loads of time
As subsequent 12 months begins, Home windows 10 solely has 9 months left to reside, or simply over. On October 14, 2025, Microsoft stops assist, which means no extra safety (or function) updates. You’re then doubtlessly weak to freshly uncovered exploits, as they received’t be patched.
So if, like me, you’ve been considering of upgrading to Home windows 11 in some unspecified time in the future – however have simply been placing it off – accomplish that now not. You may wait for an additional six months or so, however you then’re taking a look at slicing it nice, if any unexpected issues crop up. So my considering is simply get it completed straight off the bat because the New 12 months begins, and put any crucial tinkering in place.
In my case, that merely means enabling TPM 2.0 within the BIOS (which I, in criminally lazy style, simply haven’t obtained spherical to doing but). I ought to notice right here that your PC could not give you an improve to Home windows 11, saying that the system isn’t suitable.
Nonetheless, in case you have a comparatively fashionable PC (purchased within the final 5 years or so), odds are it’s nice, and like me, you simply have to allow the TPM function in your BIOS. Use the PC Well being Test app to seek out out in case your Home windows 10 machine is eligible for a free improve to Home windows 11 – chances are you’ll have to allow TPM 2.0 (listed below are Microsoft’s directions for doing that).
If you happen to can’t improve to Home windows 11 on account of having too outdated a CPU, or no built-in firmware TPM you could allow, head to our Home windows 10 Finish of Life information to discover your varied different choices.
2. Home windows 11’s interface is now a lot better
When Home windows 11 first got here out in October 2021, the interface failed in some key facets for me.
The dearth of ‘by no means mix’ for apps within the taskbar was a dealbreaker for starters – that’s my workflow, I don’t need my situations of, say, Chrome home windows all stacked up collectively, thanks. There have been loads of different shortcomings on this entrance (no taskbar drag-and-drop performance is one other apparent instance) that all added as much as some main roadblocks on ‘Route 11’ for me.
The great factor is that over the previous few years, most of these niggles and quirks round Home windows 11’s UI have been resolved, and interface-wise for me, Route 11 is now away from obstructions.
3. Home windows 11 24H2 is one other sizable step ahead, too
Home windows 11 24H2 arrived at the beginning of October 2024, and took some vital strides ahead in making the OS higher. Model 24H2 is definitely constructed on an all-new underlying platform – Germanium – which implies that whereas there aren’t an enormous variety of seen modifications from 23H2, there’s quite a lot of innovation beneath the hood.
The outcomes? Home windows 11 24H2 advantages from tighter ranges of safety, which might by no means be a foul factor (Home windows 11 was already forward of the sport in comparison with Home windows 10 on this respect).
And extra noticeably, it’s extra performant because of Germanium, too. Or a minimum of there are many anecdotal reviews that Home windows 11 is snappier and customarily extra responsive with 24H2 put in.
So with that new model rolling out extra broadly within the New 12 months, it appears an excellent guess to get on board and (hopefully) take pleasure in these advantages.
4. It may save me some cash
One other potential profit I’m eager to discover is the new Power Saver function the 24H2 replace launched.
That is an upgraded model of the earlier Battery Saver performance, and an vital addition is the flexibility to allow it with a desktop PC. Now, I’m upgrading to Home windows 11 on a desktop, and the concept shall be to run Power Saver with the intention to hold energy utilization down even on a PC that’s plugged into the mains (Battery Saver, because the title suggests, was extra about laptop computer longevity).
I don’t know the way Power Saver will work out precisely, but when it may well save me a bit of cash on my energy invoice – and I don’t see why it wouldn’t – that’ll be an enormous plus level, notably on this age of price-hiked utility fees.
5. Home windows 24H2 has different nifty options too
As additional (albeit extra minor) improve carrots, it’s price taking into account that Home windows 11 24H2 launched another helpful options.
They embody built-in assist for a number of compression codecs (not simply primary ZIPs), cumulative updates being put in sooner, and Wi-Fi 7 assist (should you’ve made the bounce together with your router and PC).
There are additionally some further AI tips equivalent to Voice Readability, which dampens background noise so that you sound clearer on video calls – beforehand this was for Copilot+ PCs solely.
Closing thought: Watch out for the bugs?
Whereas I’ve outlined the professionals of Home windows 11 24H2 as causes to seize the OS now – and for me, there’s sufficient to push me in the direction of that improve button throughout January – there are some potential cons.
You will have seen reviews of model 24H2 carrying extra than its fair proportion of bugs, and that’s true. Certainly, there have been means too many of those, and a few really odd mishaps in addition, maybe due to that massive shift beneath the hood to Germanium.
Nonetheless, as January 2024’s month-to-month patch rolls round, I’m hoping Microsoft could have contained the worst offenders (a bunch of cures have already been deployed).
And naturally, in case you have a PC with a {hardware} or software program configuration which can be susceptible to a recognized glitch, you received’t get 24H2 rolled out to you anyway. It’ll solely arrive when the related bugs that may trigger you bother are fastened, so in that case, it’s only a matter of being affected person, and hopefully not for lengthy.
At any charge, Home windows 11 24H2 remains to be within the earlier phases of its phased rollout, with the floodgates not but absolutely open, so you’ll have to be affected person anyway – but it surely ought to arrive quickly sufficient in 2025 for almost all of PCs.