What Can You Expect from the Windows 11 Upgrade?

What Can You Expect from the Windows 11 Upgrade?

It’s hard to believe that it has already been six years since Windows 10 came out. That Operating System (OS) is scheduled for retirement in about four short years (October 2025), which is why the Windows 11 announcement is a timely one.

Microsoft recently announced that Windows 11 is coming as a free upgrade that will begin to roll out to eligible Windows 10 PCs “this holiday and continuing into 2022.” So, there are only a few months to prepare your business for an upgrade.

Whenever there is a major change in your IT infrastructure, it’s important to know what to expect and to make plans ahead of time. Twin State Technical Services team of experts can help you through our IT Network Solutions. We’ll review all your company PCs to see if they meet the minimum requirements and create a strategic plan for an upgrade rollout that doesn’t negatively impact productivity.

Windows 11 is an OS upgrade that’s focused on productivity, multi-tasking, and supporting remote and hybrid teams. Thus, its perfectly positioned to help improve productivity in today’s cloud and hybrid work environment.

Here’s a rundown of the new features you can expect when you upgrade to Windows 11.

Snap Layouts & Snap Groups

Multi-tasking is the norm these days but switching between app windows can take up to 30 minutes of productivity time daily. Snap layouts and snap groups in Windows 11 are designed to help you reduce the need to minimize and maximize windows constantly.

A snap layout is a preset design to optimally see between 2 to 4 windows at a time. Once you create an arrangement of apps in a snap layout, it saves to a snap group, that you can easily bring up again later by hovering over an icon on your taskbar.

Custom Desktops

Work and home life have co-mingled during the pandemic, and the remote workforce isn’t going anywhere. The number of employees working remotely permanently is expected to double this year.

The purpose of the Desktop feature in Windows 11 is to allow you to create different desktop settings. For example, you could have a “work” desktop with business apps and shortcuts, and a “home” desktop with your social media apps.

You can even have different backgrounds on each custom desktop, so you can have something work-appropriate for the business desktop, and anything you like on your personal one.

Teams Makes Connections Easier Than Ever

2020 was all about the video meeting. We are still relying heavily on those types of virtual connections, and Windows 11 is designed to make it simple and quick to connect to others.

Microsoft Teams is natively integrated into Windows 11 and Skype is gone. You’ll see a Teams icon on the desktop, and you can use that to instantly call, chat, or video call someone. You don’t even need to open the full Teams app to connect.

Another amazing feature that’s going to be very helpful, is that the Teams chat will support cross-platform connections, including text using SMS.

Curated Content at Your Fingertips

Widgets and curated feeds are the new “hot” feature to have. If you have an iPhone with iOS 14 then you’ve had the opportunity to experience the power of widgets and how you can put these mini-app previews together to customize your device experience.

Windows 11 is adding a similar feature and allowing users to use widgets to create a curated information feed.

You can add content to your feed such as:

  • Weather report
  • News headlines
  • To-Do list
  • Calendar
  • Photos
  • Web search bar
  • And more

Simplified Start Menu

With Windows 10 we saw a major upgrade of the Start menu with customizable blocks. Microsoft is now streamlining that design and stripping away the things it feels get in the user’s way.

Some of the changes coming to the Start menu include:

  • A simple look with pinned favorites at the top.
  • The master search bar has moved from the taskbar to the top of the Start menu.
  • The Windows key icon has moved from the far left to the middle of the taskbar.

Accessibility & Transcription with Punctuation

Microsoft touts Windows 11 as its most accessible operating system ever. It has added multiple enhancements to ease of use for all users including more sound customizations, better closed captioning, additional high-contrast themes, and more.

Accessibility settings are also going to be easier to find in the System Settings.

Another accessibility feature that everyone can enjoy is Windows Voice Typing. This AI-powered voice-to-text transcription feature can even automatically add punctuation.

Get Help Preparing Your Company for Windows 11

Get Microsoft consulting services from Twin State Technical Services. Our team of experts in IT network support can help your Quad Cities area business review your PCs to see which have the minimum system requirements for an upgrade. We’ll also help you through a smooth rollout and can train your team on the new features. Contact us today for a consultation. Call 563-441-1504 or contact us online.

 

References linked to:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/06/24/introducing-windows-11/

https://www.tsts.com/infrastructure-network-solutions/technical-support/

https://slack.com/blog/transformation/the-app-era-is-here

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-technology/permanently-remote-workers-seen-doubling-in-2021-due-to-pandemic-productivity-survey-idUSKBN2772P0

https://www.tsts.com/blog/working-remotely-safe-and-secure/

https://www.tsts.com/contact/

 

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