Windows 10 was called the last Windows, then came Windows 11
In 2015 a Microsoft employee told a conference audience that no Windows would follow Windows 10. Six years later Microsoft unveiled Windows 11, ending the longest gap ever between Windows releases. Its strict hardware rules shut out many working PCs, yet by 2025 it had overtaken its predecessor worldwide.
The remark came from Jerry Nixon at the 2015 Ignite conference, when Microsoft was presenting Windows 10 as a service updated over time. PC World later argued that it was taken out of context. Meanwhile Microsoft was building Windows 10X for dual-screen devices, with a centred taskbar and a Start menu free of live tiles. That project was cancelled in May 2021, and its ideas were folded into what became Windows 11.
The launch was teased playfully. Satya Nadella hinted at the new system during Microsoft's Build conference, invitations went out for an event at 11 a.m. on 24 June 2021, and an 11 minute video of Windows start-up sounds appeared on YouTube. Screenshots and a test build leaked days early, which Panos Panay dismissed as an early weird build. The system arrived on 5 October 2021, more than six years after Windows 10.
Visually it brought a centred Start menu, a widgets panel and better window arrangement, plus gaming features borrowed from the Xbox Series X and S. The controversy was hardware. Microsoft required TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and relatively recent processors, citing security, and critics asked whether the real goal was selling new computers. It was also the first Windows with no 32-bit edition, though 32-bit programs still run.
Reviews were mixed, praising the design and security but criticising restrictions on the taskbar and on changing default apps. Windows 11 passed Windows 10 in June 2025, and since October 2025 it has been the only fully supported consumer Windows.
Source: Windows 11
