zdnet[.]com/article/windows-11-faq-heres-everything-you-need-to-know/
Today Ed Bott [ZDNET] published an updated version of his Win11 FAQ, giving a decent overall picture of the OS that might come in handy deciding whether or not to give it a try. Personally, I prefer it over Win10 on very low powered hardware, but not on our regular PCs, where Win11's [mostly minor] annoyances and missing features [compared to Win10], are practical reasons to avoid the upgrade.
What prompted me to switch from Win10 to Win11 is my NAS died. [An NAS (Network Attached Storage) device is very basically a simple type of file server -- I mainly stored copies of disk image backups via the network on it's 2 mirrored hard disks (if one hard disk failed, the other had the exact same files).] I feel that NAS devices are overpriced for what you get, and was not excited at the prospect of buying a new one. Well, Microsoft added a feature to Win11 where I can mirror the same 2 hard disks using a USB drive dock -- at less than $25 the dock is not only magnitudes cheaper than an NAS, but USB is faster transferring files vs. the network.
Since Ed Bott tends to stick to Microsoft recommendations, I wanted to add the following...
"... Windows 11 includes Windows Subsystem for Android, allowing Android apps to run on the familiar Windows desktop. That feature has also received regular updates since its initial release in 2021.Before you get too excited about the Android-on-Windows possibilities, be aware that, for now at least, those apps will come from the Amazon app store..."
It's fairly easy to sideload apps -- there's 3rd party software just for that -- though it can still be a bit of a PITA. *To me* the safest route is to install whatever app or game from the Play Store on an Android tablet or phone, then use an Android app to export its APK [setup or installation file]. The most important thing to note is that some apps/games will be blocked, while some require Google services, which you won't have [there is a lengthy, technical workaround]. Be sure to check out the hardware requirements for WSA [Windows Subsystem for Android] -- they're stricter than Win11's.
"Windows 11 requires a hardware security component called a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), along with UEFI firmware (no legacy BIOS allowed) and Secure Boot. The UEFI requirement also means that system disks must be set up using the GUID Partition Table (GPT) standard. Systems that use the legacy Master Boot Record (MBR) system are unsupported.Virtually all PCs designed and built since 2015 include TPM 2.0 support, although you might have to go into the firmware settings to enable it."
The TPM & newer CPUs are helpful if you use BitLocker, and especially for Windows Memory Integrity features.
learn.microsoft[.]com/en-us/windows/security/hardware-security/enable-virtualization-based-protection-of-code-integrity
Memory Integrity is Not something new to Win11 -- IMHO few used it in Win10 because it reduces performance, & few use it in Win11 for the same reason. While specs call for TPM 2.0, Win11 is just as happy with lower versions, e.g., the version in AMD CPUs. While the latest Win11 setup routine *may* [or may not] complain [now, or in the future], Win11 likes and works with both Legacy [non-UEFI] BIOS and MBR [not GPT] hard disks. [Some, I think mostly older BIOS will switch to legacy mode when asked to boot from an MBR hard disk, and will switch to UEFI if that hard disk is GPT.] While the hardware requirements list Secure Boot *capable*, Win11 does Not insist that you have it turned on.
"To upgrade a system that is running Windows 10 but doesn't meet the hardware requirements, a Microsoft support document specifies the following registry key modification you must make first:..."
That only works if the hardware *almost* qualifies.
"File Explorer gets the same visual refresh as the rest of Windows, with a simplified ribbon and shortcut menus."
The right-click context menus are Totally Different -- I hate them personally -- but it's easy to revert to Win10's context menus; there are a few 3rd party apps that can do that for you.
"Microsoft allows anyone to run preview versions of Windows 11 on supported hardware by opting into the Windows Insider Program. Insider releases are available in four channels: Canary, Dev, Beta, and Release Preview. In the new arrangement, those first three channels maintain separate paths from current builds; the only way to get back to the public releases is to reinstall Windows."
That's not 100% accurate... in the Beta & Release Preview channels you'll get the next, updated version of Windows sometime before its general release. If you turn off the Insider setting for a copy of Windows *at that time* you're good to go, since there will be little if any difference between the version you have installed & the non-Insider version everyone else will get. Because Beta versions in between major updates are different, if you turn off getting Insider builds at other times, Windows will reinstall the current regular version. Turning off Insider builds in the Dev & Canary channels will always trigger a reinstallation. [You join the Insider program using a Microsoft account. Then, in any copy of Windows using that same account, you can turn receiving Insider builds on/off, and select the Insider channel you wish to join.]
"Yes, you can install Windows 11 in a virtual machine (VM)."
In my experience VirtualBox VMs run faster/better than Hyper-V &/or VMware -- the Windows desktop versions of the latter two are IMHO adaptions [workarounds] of software designed and intended for servers. However, Windows uses Hyper-V for several other features, and if you want to run one of those, you'll have to install & turn on Hyper-V, which is not compatible with VirtualBox. There are VirtualBox settings to make it work, but performance is degraded. It's entirely up to you whether enabling TPM etc. is worth it to run Win11 in a VM -- the workarounds to install & run Win11 on non-spec hardware work just fine.