Say it straight, Redmond. We all know that Windows 11 is on its way, and it comes with a shiny new look to go with a bunch of welcome new features, many of which are available for beta testing right now.
Yet, amidst all this ballyhoo, we don’t quite have a concrete release date.
The actual release date that Microsoft is aiming for.
So far, the company has not given much away beyond saying that the new OS will be ready for the holiday season. In other words, the RTM version will be finalized in the next few months. Folks looking to deploy it on their Windows 10 systems will, in all probability, have to wait until next year.
That said, there have been hints that October is the release date Redmond has penciled in.
And now, we have further clues, straight from the company itself.
In the official Windows Hardware Certification document, Microsoft has given hardware manufacturers and partners a deadline by which to submit their Windows 11 compatible drivers in order for these bits to be included on systems that will ship with the OS preinstalled.
The document goes on to say:
“Partners looking to achieve compatibility for systems shipping with Windows 11, version 21H2 Release may factory-install drivers for components that achieved compatibility with Windows 10, version 2004 until September 24, 2021.
Errata 81316 is available to filter the “System Logo Check” failure seen when testing Windows 11, version 21H2 based systems with Windows 10, Version 2004 qualified.”
On one hand, this does not tell us much more than what we already know. But on the other, this is another indication that an October launch is looking increasingly probable.
A gap of one month between the final driver submission date and the actual launch of Windows 11 sounds about normal. And this takes us into late October and early November territory to when the new operating system will be available.
