Microsoft officially releases Windows 11, supports Android applications, and is developer-friendly

Author: Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer, Microsoft

As the PC plays an increasingly important role in our lives, Windows 11 aims to bring you closer to the things you love.

Windows has always been the stage of world innovation. It is the cornerstone of global enterprises and has helped many thriving start-ups become household names. The network was born and thrived on Windows. Many of us wrote our first email here, experienced the first PC game, and wrote the first line of code. Windows is a place where people create, connect, learn, and achieve extraordinary results. Today it is a platform that more than 1 billion people rely on.

We shoulder the responsibility of designing for everyone, and we cannot take it lightly. In the past year and a half, the way we use PCs has undergone incredible changes. We have changed from integrating PCs into our lives to trying to integrate our entire lives into PCs. We can not only use the equipment to meet, study and complete work, but also to play games and watch favorite shows with friends. What's more meaningful is that we can use equipment to connect with each other. In the process, we found that we have reshaped the social in the office, chat in the corridor, exercise and fitness, happy hour in the bar and holiday celebrations, etc. These activities have become digital.

We have seen and felt that the PC has undergone a powerful transformation, from a practical and functional thing to a personal and emotional thing. This inspired us when building the next generation of Windows. We are committed to creating a familiar platform for you, where you can create, learn, play, and most importantly, establish connections in new ways.

Today, I have the honor to introduce you to Windows 11. Windows 11 brings you closer to what you love.

for productivity, creativity and ease of use

We have simplified the interface design and user operations, and stimulate more creativity while empowering productivity. The new Windows is more modern, clean and beautiful, and refreshing. Whether it's the new "Start" button and taskbar, or every sound, font, and icon, everything has been carefully designed so that you can control it freely and bring you a more calm and relaxed feeling. We put the "Start" button in the center, making it easier for you to quickly find what you need. With the powerful performance of the cloud and Microsoft 365, the "Start" menu will show you recent documents, no matter which platform or device you have previously viewed, even if you have browsed these documents on an Android or iOS device, the "Start" menu is Can give you a clear view.

By providing the flexibility of multiple windows and the ability to parallel applications, Windows has always been committed to helping users complete tasks as they wish. In Windows 11, we introduced new snap layout, snap group and virtual desktop functions to help you handle multiple tasks at the same time and focus on what you want to accomplish. These new features are designed to help you organize windows and optimize screen space so that you can view content on demand in a clean and tidy layout. You can also create separate virtual desktops for life and work and customize them to your liking. Let us imagine that on a PC, you can have virtual desktops for work, games or study.

Windows 11 is no longer complicated, simple and efficient.

with people you care about

Another key to bringing you closer to your loved one is to narrow the distance between you and your loved one. The past year and a half have allowed everyone to establish more meaningful connections through digital means. Even though we are gradually returning to meeting and communication, we hope to continue to help everyone stay connected wherever they are, without being hindered by equipment or platforms.

With the release of Windows 11, we are very happy to integrate Chat* based on Microsoft Teams technology into the taskbar. Now, whether you are on Windows, Android or iOS platforms, you can use typing, chat, voice or video to communicate with all your contacts in real time at any place, on any platform or device. If the person you are communicating with has not downloaded the Teams app, you can also contact them via two-way text messages.

Through Teams, Windows 11 brings you a more natural way of contacting family and friends. You can turn on and off the silent mode directly in the taskbar, or start a presentation.

The best ever Windows PC game experience

If you are a gamer, then Windows 11 was born for you. Games have always been the cornerstone of Windows. Nowadays, hundreds of millions of users all over the world play games on Windows system, enjoy the happiness brought by games, and interconnect with relatives and friends through games. Windows 11 can fully release the potential of the system hardware and make some cutting-edge game technologies available to players: DirectX 12 Ultimate can bring players an exciting and immersive graphics experience at high frame rates; DirectStorage (pass-through storage) can provide faster Faster loading time and more refined game world; and Auto HDR provides players with a wider color gamut and more vivid colors, bringing a truly fascinating visual enjoyment. In addition, our commitment to hardware compatibility remains the same — Windows 11 supports any PC gaming accessories and peripherals you like. Through Xbox Game Pass for PC or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate**, players can access more than one hundred excellent PC games at any time, as well as other new games that are constantly being added. Moreover, whether it is on the PC or on the console, you can easily find other players to play together.

To learn more about what Windows 11 means to players, check out Xbox blog .

Get the information you care about faster

Through the Widgets* function, Windows 11 enables users to understand the news and information they care about in a timely manner. Widgets is a personalized reminder function, driven by AI and the powerful Microsoft Edge browser. Even when we are most focused on creating, we need a moment of rest-to communicate with the outside world, or to relax our spirit. Nowadays, we often use mobile phones to check news updates, weather changes or notifications. But now, you can open a similar management view directly on your computer desktop. When you open the personalized prompt box, it will slide on the screen like a piece of glass, so as not to affect your work. For content creators and publishers, Widgets opens up a new space in Windows for them to create personalized content. Our goal is to create a vibrant creative channel for brands and creators around the world, so that consumers and creators can benefit from it.

Brand new Microsoft Store , your favorite applications and entertainment projects are all here

The new Microsoft Store is a trusted platform where you can explore applications and content related to viewing, creation, games, work, and learning. The rebuilt Microsoft Store is faster and has a new, beautiful and easy-to-use design. We will not only bring you more applications, but also make it easier for you to explore and discover all content, including applications, games, video shows, movies, etc., through selection and collection. In addition, we are also very happy to welcome many excellent first-party and third-party applications to join the Microsoft Store, such as Microsoft Teams, Visual Studio, Disney+*, Adobe Creative Cloud, Zoom and Canva, which will bring you great entertainment Enjoy, inspire, and keep you connected with others. The applications in the Microsoft Store have passed safety and family protection tests, so you can download them with confidence.

We are happy to announce that we are introducing Android applications to Windows for the first time. Later this year, everyone will be able to find Android apps in the Microsoft Store and download them through the Amazon App Store. Imagine that you can record and post videos on TikTok, or use Khan Academy Kids for online learning on your computer. In the coming months, we will share more information related to this. We look forward to using Intel Bridge technology applications to cooperate with Amazon and Intel.

Create a more open ecosystem and unlock new opportunities for developers and creators

We are taking steps to further open the Microsoft Store to provide creators and developers with more profitable opportunities. We let developers and independent software vendors (ISVs) launch their applications, whether it is Win32 applications, Progressive Web App (PWA), Universal Windows Application (UWP) or any other application framework, we will create a Opportunities to contact and interact with more users. We also announced a gradual reform of the revenue sharing policy. Application developers can introduce their own business models into the Microsoft Store and retain 100% of their revenue. Microsoft does not charge any fees. Application developers can still use our competitive revenue sharing model of 85/15. We believe that creating a more open ecosystem will ultimately benefit our customers-allowing them to safely and smoothly access the applications, games, movies, shows and online content they want and need.

To learn more about the changes in the Microsoft Store, please visit this Windows blog post .

To learn more about what Windows 11 means for developers, please visit the Windows Developer blog post .

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