I started toying with an insider version of Windows 11 Pro insider preview (Build 22454.1000) which is due to expire on the 1st of November, so I also installed the Final Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 (OS Build 22000.282), which according to Windows update I just ran in the Final, is fully up to date. I installed and am running both in Virtual Machines, activating them via existing Windows 10 Pro digital licences I already have stored in my Microsoft account.
A couple of days ago, I made a point of using the Windows 11 Pro Final for an entire day doing everything, mainly to see if I would warm to the new interface. I kind of did with regards to the new Start menu and the All apps button up top, and I prefer the way Pinned apps can be organised. Document history under (Recommended) is much more useful than Window 10's implementation, in my opinion, as there is a More button there to show a whole host of documents I'd worked on via Office 365 over the last couple of weeks to choose from.
The VM of Win 11 Final (once booted up) runs just as fast as my Windows 10 Pro host does on physical hardware installed to an NMVe 512 GB SSD, so its speed is fine, and I've only given it the required 8GB of RAM too.
I find its Windows File Explorer a bit slicker and better organised, too, though I'll definitely be replacing it with my favourite tool
Directory Opus Pro eventually. Directory Opus has
way too many features I've gotten used to and would miss if I had to stick with File Explorer to manipulate my files, folders, FTP needs, etc. For me, it's the ultimate file manager and my go-to on Windows 10 as well.
Overall, my impression is that it's pretty much the same as Windows 10, only with the UI organised differently. None of the new bits of included software and widgets does anything to excite me, and I dislike some of the nags that Windows Security keeps displaying, even after I've dismissed them, like reminding me to enable OneDrive for recovery options in case of a ransomware attack. I do my own backups thanks very much, so if I say don't warn me about it again, I expect it to respect my decision and not keep turning the reminder back on.
So will I upgrade my host? Not likely anytime soon. Maybe in a year or so, I'll rethink that position, but for now, I see no compelling reason to upgrade my Windows 10 Pro host to Windows 11 Pro. The bonus should be that Microsoft will have more time to iron out bugs that I may not yet be aware of.
I do still intend to keep playing around with it every now and then, though. Have to stay up to date these days, and I find VMs are a great way to do that without risking interruption to daily productivity from a newly released OS :)
