After all this time.
It might seem like an odd time to ask the question. After all, Windows 11 has been out for several years now.
However, the end of Windows 10 support is coming up, and it’s still used all over the world. The question is more relevant than ever. If you have Windows 10 and are considering Windows 11, you might well ask: what’s the difference?
Let’s compare, contrast, and complain a little.
Become a Patron of Ask Leo! and go ad-free!
Windows 10 versus Windows 11
Windows 11 is a significant update to Windows 10. It has stricter hardware requirements and visual changes like a centered Start menu. While maintaining familiar functionality, it removes some features (like Cortana) while adding others (like Widgets). The biggest practical difference is that Windows 10 support ends in 2025 while support for Windows 11 continues.
Related
Yet Another Way to Install Windows 11 Without a TPM
Windows 11 requires a TPM and a CPU with particular specifications. This approach should let you install Windows 11 on a machine not meeting those requirements.#177093
The elephant in the motherboard:* hardware requirements
By far the most controversial difference is Windows 11’s new security-related hardware requirements:
- Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
- UEFI, Secure Boot capable. (Replaces traditional BIOS)
- A compatible 64-bit processor
Other baseline requirements have changed as well:
- Windows 11 has no 32-bit version.
- Minimum RAM requirements increased from 2GB to 4GB.
- Minimum disk space increased from 20GB to 64GB.
- DirectX 12 graphics driver software is required (previously DirectX 9).
- Minimum screen resolution is 1280×720 (increased from 800×600).
The latter set of changes is more typical between one Windows version and another. The restrictions imposed by the first list, however, have generated a fair amount of controversy, as they preclude many existing older machines from running Windows 11.
Look and feel
Once you fire up Windows 11 for the first time, you’ll note that it looks somewhat different.
Another controversial, though perhaps less impactful, change is that the Start Menu is in the middle of the taskbar by default. It can be moved to the left if desired. In addition, the taskbar cannot be repositioned from the bottom, unlike Windows 10 where you could place it on the top, bottom, left, or right edge of the screen.
As is also traditional with Windows version changes, there are a variety of cosmetic changes: rounded corners, softer colors, new animations, and transparency effects.
Other visible changes and removals
A selection of other differences via the Microsoft Windows 11 specifications page:
- Cortana app is removed.
- Microsoft Edge with IE mode replaces the Internet Explorer 11.
- Mail, Calendar, and People are replaced with the new Outlook.
- S Mode is only available now for Windows 11 Home edition.
- Windows 11 does not support disabling the return of internet Search results.
- Named groups and folders of apps are no longer supported in Start and the layout is not resizable.
- Live Tiles are no longer available.
- Tablet Mode is removed.
- Wallet is removed.
- Mixed Reality Portal app, Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR, and Steam VR Beta are removed.
- Word Pad is removed.
- Widgets are added.
- Passkeys are added to Windows Hello.
- Security additions such as reputation-based installation blocks (e.g. SmartScreen) have been added or improved.
- Application interfaces have some changes, such as Windows File Explorer updates, Snipping Tool, and more.
The list is somewhat longer (and occasionally esoteric). The items above represent what I think most average users might notice or care about.
Under the hood
Many changes under the hood don’t necessarily change how you see or interact with Windows 11 but improve its overall performance and/or security.
Many of these changes are positioned specifically as relating to gaming, gaming interaction, and gaming performance. It’s unclear whether the improvements impact non-gaming activities. I expect that while some might, many will not. In my experience using both Windows 10 and Windows 11, performance appears similar for non-gaming tasks.
Other changes, like Virtualization-Based Security, kernel DMA protection, and others, add security.
I have also seen claims that Windows 11 has made an assortment of changes to improve both boot time and performance of the application(s) currently being used (aka “foreground apps”). Much like the gaming improvements, it’s unclear if these are noticeable to most users.
Not really Windows 11
Complaints about the apps below get bundled into Windows 11 complaints, but they’re not really about Windows. While they are from Microsoft and might be interwoven into Windows 11 more tightly than we’d like, they’re separate from Windows.
- OneDrive
- Edge
- Office / Office 365 / Microsoft 365 / Microsoft 365 CoPilot
- Outlook / Outlook [new]
- CoPilot (though this integration is getting tighter every day, so the line is definitely blurring, particularly with “CoPilot+ PCs”.)
Although these are independent of Windows, you may experience some of their changes and updates regardless of which version of Windows you’re running.
From the start, my take on Windows 11 has been that it’s less a major new version of Windows than it is a substantial upgrade. In years past, we might have called it a service pack. I suspect that the change in hardware requirements, more than anything else, drove Microsoft to call this Windows 11 rather than Windows 10 Service Pack 1.
I say that to make this point: Windows 11 isn’t that huge a leap from Windows 10. While it looks a little different at times, it’s just Windows. As long as your machine is capable, the differences are manageable and not that difficult to get used to.
The biggest difference might be this: while it will keep working, Windows 10 stops being officially supported in October 2025. While no official, final, end-of-support date has been announced for Windows 11, it will be supported for many years to come.
Do this
Question: if you’re already using Windows 11 after having used Windows 10, which changes did you notice the most? What impacted you the most? Obviously, I’ve highlighted the changes I think most people will care about, but your experiences can help others decide as well. Leave a comment below. (Comments that are just Microsoft or Windows bashing will, of course, be removed.)
Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.
compare win 11 to win XP or even win 7, every new windows OS is a pale comparison to the previous one. and the worst thing MS did was eliminate the installation disk.
Microsoft didn’t eliminate the installation disc. They just moved the files online.
You can download a Windows installation ISO from Microsoft and create an installation drive using Rufus.
Where Can I Download Windows? – Ask Leo!
Convert an ISO to a Bootable USB Using Rufus – Ask Leo!
It’s more work, but in many ways, it’s better.
1. Computers no longer come with optical drives.
2. Many people misplace their installation discs.
3. A downloaded version will be a much more recent version.
First, I had no problems switching from Windows 10 to 11. The TPM requirement wasn’t an issue because I use Bitlocker and had made sure that when I purchased a replacement computer it had a TPM (That was back in Windows 8, BTW). All of my computers were able to upgrade.
The only thing I had a big issue with was File Explorer. I didn’t care for the way Microsoft changed the Context Menu and appearance. I found ways to put things back to the way they were in Windows 10, usually by making changes to the registry. It now looks and works as “hybrid” between 10 and 11. I keep a file of all the changes I made in a folder and keep a copy on a flash drive in my “tool kit” for when I might have to reinstall Windows.
I guess I’m different from most subscribers in that I’m willing to pay a few extra dollars for the Pro versions of Windows over the Home versions when buying a computer. I’ve found that doing so gives me greater flexibility in setting up Windows the way I want using Settings, Local Group Policy, and the registry if I have to.
Rather than complain because Microsoft did this or Microsoft did that, I look at the changes, decide whether or not I can live with it, and if I can’t then look for ways to roll the changes back. And, sometimes, just learn to live with it. As a benefit, I’ve learned a lot about how Windows works and how to troubleshoot issues when they arise.
Microsoft didn’t really get rid of Cortana. They replaced it with Copilot.
I like WordPad to open many files as it opens much faster than MS Word or LibreOffice Write, so I downloaded and installed a copy. I prefer not to say where I got it because I haven’t fully tested it, but you can search for the downloadable version.
I’m told one of the simpler ways to get it is to locate a copy on a previous installation of Windows 10 (or 11 before Wordpad was removed) and just copy it to the same location in your Wordpass-less Windows 11 installation.
I have a desktop, and two laptop PCs here. My desktop and primary laptop PCs meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements, while my second/older laptop has a CPU that’s not compliant although it does have TPM2.0 and supports secure boot. I installed Windows 11 on my desktop and primary laptop PCs when it became available for those devices. I have Windows 10 installed on my older laptop, and it will never meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements, although I suspect that I’ll be able to install it when Windows 10 reaches End-Of-Life, even though it will be considered unsupported, and may at some point stop receiving updates through Windows Update. If that happens/the Windows 11 install doesn’t work out, I’ll remove Windows 10, and make that computer a GNU/Linux-only device.
Currently, I have the Garuda GNU/Linux, KDE-Lite flavor, installed on all three of my computers in a dual-boot configuration with Windows. Removing Windows from my older laptop PC should be a matter of removing/resizing partitions using my boot-able System Rescue USB stick (https://www.system-rescue.org/), and resetting my rEFInd boot manager’s configuration to not display on-screen, automatically starting Garuda GNU/Linux (potentially, yet another exciting adventure for me, unless Windows 11 successfully installs/runs well on that older machine).
For me, the differences between Windows 10 and Windows 11 are mostly perceptual, both in the user interface, and in how I access configuration settings. While Windows 10 does have a Settings app, the majority of settings must be configured/changed using control panel, while with Windows 11, the situation’s reversed (I perform the majority of system configurations on Windows 11 in the settings app, and fewer in control panel, as time goes by).
It took me a short time to become familiar with/acclimate to using Windows 11, and now, using Windows 10 feels a bit awkward/clumsy. For example, restarting the computer in Windows 11 requires me to click Start at the left-center of the taskbar, click the Power icon at the bottom-right of the start panel near the center of the screen, then select the Restart option at the bottom-right of the start panel (lock, sleep, or shutdown are other options available through the Power icon). In Windows 10, I must click Start at the left end of the taskbar, hover the mouse over/click on the Power icon at the bottom-left of the start panel, and select restart (similar additional options to those described above are available under the Power icon). Overall, after getting used to working in Windows 11, using Windows 10 not only feels awkward/clumsy, but a bit outdated to me, probably because I spend a lot more time working in Windows 11 than I do in Windows 10 these days.
Ultimately, as Leo says, Windows 11 feels very much like a feature upgrade to Windows 10, without the addition of the new hardware requirements for Windows 11, it would be a simple feature upgrade/service pack for Windows 10.
Ernie
I don’t like change. I keep all versions of software until they just don’t function anymore. I stayed with Windows 7 until 2020, when new computers only came with Windows 10. I’m not a gamer, I live in Excel, Access and Word. I’m very productive with Win 10. I don’t want to give up control of things to Windows 11. So many of the things you list would drive me crazy, and I don’t want to slow down to get used to a new system that I find visually unappealing and toxically nosy.
I will pay for the extended maintenance when it’s available, and when it’s not, I will just keep using Windows 10 until it’s just completely worn out. Hopefully by then, they will have made a new version, and I can skip Windows 11 like I skipped Windows 8!
Teri, you spoke for me, too. “I’m very productive with Win 10.” Exactly right.
Like you Teri, I don’t like change for the sake of change, so was dragged ‘kicking and screaming’ to W11.
My first (of many) problems was ”How do I turn the dratted thing off!” – Not realising that I had to right click the Windows logo.
I purchased a new PC with 11 on it, as my old one would not support 11 – That in itself was another problem, as I use an optical drive quite a bit, I had to have one fitted to the new machine as it seems these are now considered ‘old hat’ and no longer come as standard fitment.
Shutting down Windows is almost identical in Windows 10 & 11. In fact, it’s very similar to shuttingdow windows 8. So unless you’ve upgrated from Windows 7 to 11.
My Win 10 computer can’t handle 11, but I don’t want 11 as 10 does everything I ask of it, most of the time intuitively.
And I like 10 for its ability to place my task bar on the left (not bottom), where it should be on a 24″ monitor with short vertical real estate. Can’t believe something this easy isn’t possible in 11. Another reason to like 10: it still runs MS FrontPage 2003. I suspect 11 won’t.
My plan is to get a cheap PC, maybe a Chromebook, and do all my financial stuff on it, and nothing else. Meanwhile, the unsupported Win 10 machine will do everything else without security updates but I don’t go to bad online neighborhoods, and I think I’ll be all right. I’ll recover with my data backups if I get hacked.
If the fee MS charged for continued support of Win 10 was $5/mo or less, I’d pay it, but I’m not holding my breath it’ll be that low.
What’s going to be interested is what happens this October when Win 10 stops being supported and there are hundreds of millions of Win 10 PCs in use.
“what happens this October when Win 10 stops being supported?”
Probably the same thing that heppened whem Windows XP and 7 went out of support. Not much.
What Happens at Windows 10 End of Support?
The most significant difference between Windows 10 and 11 that I’ve encountered is the context menu when right-clicking a folder or when copying files. I’ve become quite used to looking for the graphics rather than Copy and Paste, as periodically I setup new laptops for customers. My preference is to uninstall OneDrive when I configure a new computer for customers as I have seen customers who are able to find their files. One customer wasn’t able to view videos smoothly because he had dragged a folder to the Windows Desktop, which had been moved to the OneDrive cloud drive.
Recently, I installed Tiny11, which is Windows 11 Pro) on my oldest computer which has unsupported hardware. It is a Dell Desktop PC with 8 GB. RAM and a 1 TB mechanical hard drive. The computer runs great after a lengthy installation that moved Windows to Wondows.old. However, Windows Defender detected a Backdoor.Crypto trojan infected file. Removal of this file took hours when scanning with Defender. McAfee Antivirus is now showing no viruses.
.
My computer can handle update but turned off in bios because of Windows 11 problems still happening with updates. I agree with Terri in keeping windows 10 and hopeful to skip Windows 11
The biggest difference for me was the interface, as is for everyone I think. I am fairly used to it now, and many functions of the context menu I only use as keyboard shortcuts, so they don’t bother me.
For the most part I dislike the large start menu, thought pinning shortcuts is useful. I wish M$ ditched the web results on its search. No one uses this, as most people have a browser open at all times. They should instead improve indexing and searching within Windows itself, something that many have to install Powertoys for.
I’ve found a way to disable web results on Windows search. The GUI also has an option to enable them back, so I guess they sort of support disabling it. Perhaps I am misinterpreting their options. Still, much more useful now. I can type something like “txt”, and only get files back for results.
As for Wordpad, I hadn’t noticed it wasn’t here till I began finding videos online complaining about M$ deleting it. For simple texts like readme’s and editing configuration files I simply use the fast Notepad option. For heavier text duty, it Libre Office Writer.