Covid-19 is just one of the factors that has helped to increase the importance of the PC.
Fatih Bor, Windows consumer category manager at Microsoft, points out that there has been a 16% increase in PC sales since the beginning of the pandemic.
There has simultaneously been a 29% year on year increase in the time users spend in Windows, which is one of the largest ecosystems in the world.
In addition, 67% of customers now say they would rather be given a new PC than a new smartphone.
With users spending so much more time on their PC, simplicity and ease of use are top of the list of computer requirements.
“People need to know that can do the things they want and need to do wherever they are and whatever device they are on,” Bor says.
“Windows 11 is a new operating system, with a new and meaningful experience for people,” Bor says.
“It is bringing basically simplicity, flexibly and accessibility. It is designed for you to be more productive and to work in a better way.”
Windows 11 rolls out across the world today as a free upgrade on eligible Windows 10 PCs and on new PCs pre-installed with Windows 11.
The new operating system boasts a host of new features, according to Colin Erasmus, modern work and security business group lead at Microsoft.
“We are bringing users closer to what they love,” he says.
There are new features, but the look and feel remains the same, Erasmus says, so users won’t have a steep learning curve when they switch to Windows 11.
New features include Chat from Microsoft Teams, a redesigned Microsoft Store on Windows, Snap Layouts and Groups offering a new way to multitask and optimise screen layouts, and an inclusive design that caters to people with disabilities.
Gaming features in Windows 11 include AutoHDR and DirectStorage. It also includes a built-in Xbox app where users can browse, download and play over 100 PC games from the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC library.
Designed for hybrid work and learning, organisations can move to Windows 11 on the desktop and through the cloud with Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop.
Windows 11 offers chip-to-cloud protection to help secure the new working environment.
In addition, new tools and resources for developers make developing apps for PC, web, phone or game console more seamless than before. Among these tools are a more open store, deep development integrations and new design.
Windows 11 is available on the widest array of devices, form factors, and silicon from partners at Acer, AMD, ASUS, Dell, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Samsung and Surface.