Windows 11 now available for beta testing and anyone bored of Windows 10 can try it out, here is how

Windows 11 is now available to practically anyone who wants to try it out right away. While the wide release of Windows 11 will take place later this year, Microsoft is moving beyond the developer channel for the early builds of Windows 11. What this means for you is that you do not need to be a developer to be able to taste Windows 11. The beta release of Windows 11 brings fewer bugs and more stability, and this means it will run a lot better than what is available to developers.

If you are interested in trying out Windows 11, the first thing you need is a compatible computer. There has been a lot of controversy around Microsoft’s criteria for a laptop to support Windows 11, and it previously ruled out hundreds of machines that can very easily run Windows 10. There is still a lot that Microsoft has not said about Windows 11 compatibility, but beta testers can go to the system requirements page on the Windows 11 website.

There is a huge list of new processors from Intel and AMD that will run Windows 11, but a generation lower processors – the 7th Gen Intel and AMD Zen 1 – will also support Windows 11 for now. These two processor families were earlier not part of the system requirements for Windows 11, but because of the huge backlash, Microsoft rolled back its decision. Whether these two processor families will support Windows 11’s final build is subject to Microsoft’s experience from developer and beta builds. So, if you are going all-in as a beta tester and have any of these processors, your feedback matters to Microsoft.

Since the developer builds are more on the buggier side of things, Windows 11’s beta is what can get you going about the next operating system from Microsoft. It brings a whole new design that brings the Start menu to the centre. Although optional, the new Start menu setting makes Windows feel totally new. Not just that, there are new system icons, new system sounds, several new widgets, and, of course, the ability to run Android apps natively on Windows 11.

You can follow these steps to download and install Windows 11 beta right away:

Go to Settings on your computer and navigate to the Windows Insider Program tab. Here you need to choose what sort of Insider user you want to be for Windows 11. This boils down to your ultimate choice: if you go for the developer account, your Windows 11 version is going to be edgy and a bit buggy, but choosing beta will give a better and refined version of Windows 11. After you enrol your machine under the Windows Insider Program, your computer will show you the latest Windows 11 update for the channel you chose: beta in this case.

Also, if you are a developer and want to move to a more stable side of the Windows 11 experience, you can switch from the developer channel to the beta channel by changing your Insider account preference. Doing this will require you to download and reinstall Windows 11 on your computer, so keep your data backed up. But Microsoft is giving some relief here. Those who want to quickly move to beta or vice versa can do so with just a quick restart. This, Microsoft said on Twitter, is going to be available for “a short period of time.”

News Credit: MSN News