In the end, Windows 11 has come true . Windows 10 21H1 will be the last update of this operating system, although it will continue to receive support and security updates until 2025. But, when the date arrives, it will go to the drawer with XP or 7. Sooner or later we will have to update our computers to Windows 11 to be able to continue using the Microsoft operating system. However, we are faced with doubts: can we update for free from Windows Update, or will we have to buy a new license?
It is still too early to know the intentions that Microsoft has around this new operating system. What is clear is that, right now, it is little more than a very large customization layer on top of the latest Windows 10 ′ “Sun Valley ” Insider build. It shares programs, appearance and elements with its predecessor and, although it has a very large aesthetic change, it is not so much if we compare it with other jumps, such as from XP to Vista, or from 7 to 8.1.
Microsoft will officially present its new operating system on June 24 at 5:00 p.m. Spanish time . It is from then on when we will be able to know in depth all the details and secrets of this new operating system, such as when it will arrive and if we will have to pay to enjoy it. However, common sense makes us think that the most logical thing is that it is a free update.
Windows 11 will have free update
The first thing we must do is differentiate that an operating system is free to be able to update it for free . Ubuntu, for example, is a free operating system that we can download, install and use on any PC without ever having to pay for it or activate it. Windows has never been, and never will be, a free system in this sense. Microsoft’s operating system will always have a license associated with it, and the key can be obtained by buying it ourselves or by buying a computer that already has an OEM key.
Now, if we already have a computer with Windows 10, or an individual key for this operating system, it is most likely that we will not have to pay for it again . Just as we were able to update for free from Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10, Microsoft will do the same from 10 to 11. What’s more, the safest thing is that we don’t even have to update by hand, but it will be Windows Update who will download and install the new version automatically the same as if it were a new version of Windows 10 .
The similarities with the latest builds of Windows 10 “Sun Valley” suggest that it is the same operating system with a layer of customization on top. And users don’t like having to pay twice for the same product.
An update model similar to Android or macOS? Could be
What does Windows 11 mean? Wasn’t Windows 10 going to be Microsoft’s last operating system? After 6 years, we do not know why, all of a sudden, Microsoft has decided to break with everything and launch an operating system with as few internal changes as the new 11.
Most likely, Microsoft wants to put aside names like “version 2004”, “November 2020 Update” or “Sun Valley” and bet on a much simpler and simpler nomenclature. Windows 11 is easier to identify and remember than “Sun Valley” or “Winter 2021 Magical Update”. And surely the thing does not end here. It is possible that, from now on, we will see new versions of this operating system more frequently. We may even see one every year, or every two years, similar to how Android and macOS (to give two examples) do on their systems. So soon we will see Windows 12 , Windows 13 , and so on.
What is clear is that Windows 11, although it has a different number, leaves behind the big changes such as from 98 to XP, from XP to 7 or from 7 to 10. It is nothing more than Windows 10 with a layer of personalization on top . And, therefore, it will clearly be free for those who already have a Windows 10 license.