At least, all the signs are pointing towards this. Microsoft announced Windows 11 last week, with a promise that the new OS would start rolling out this holiday season.
Alongside, the company also revealed that it was working with PC hardware makers to start shipping new Windows 11 devices at the same period. The first official preview build for Insiders is on track for arrival later this week.
But amidst all this, no concrete release date for Windows 11 was provided.
However, there are hints that the company is planning to get the show on the road by the tenth month of the year. A launch window in the eleventh month would have made more sense, even something like November 11, but a man can only dream.
Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans say that the software titan aims to release Windows 11 in October, ready for new devices from OEMs. In fact, Redmond has teased the October 20 date in a number of marketing images for the new operating system.
Including the one that you can see below, which has the clock set to 11:11 AM with a date defined as October 20.
Another teaser was provided during the company’s unveil event last week on June 24, where we got the faintest of hints when a notification from a Microsoft Teams message from Stevie Bathiche, VP of Windows, Surface, Duo, and Hub popped up.
It read something like “Excited to turn it up to 11… can’t wait for October”.
Pretty solid as far as teasers go, both of these.
In recent years, Microsoft has consistently announced new Surface devices in October. And it would not be a surprise to see the company do something similar this year as well. Perhaps a new Surface branded Windows 11 device could go official this winter.
As for existing Windows 10 PCs, Redmond has said that its upgrade rollout plan is scheduled to begin late 2021 and continue into 2022, with specific timing to vary by device.
