Everyone hates Windows 11, right? Okay, that’s unnecessarily harsh, but if you browse some popular online forums, it’s an opinion you’re sure to see expressed here and there. It’s definitely true that Windows 11 remains somewhat unloved, and adoption of the operating system has lagged far behind the speed with which PC owners jumped on the Windows 10 bandwagon.
However, Windows 11 is far from a bad operating system (it’s not Windows 8 or Windows ME) and in fact has some strong points. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s the right time to upgrade as next year arrives, due to two main factors.
First, time is running out for support in 2025. And second, Windows 11 24H2 just debuted some nifty introductions. There are other reasons why I decided to take the leap and migrate to Windows 11 as the New Year begins, so let’s dive in and explore.
1. It’s time to act, while there is still plenty of time
When next year begins, Windows 10 only has nine months left to live, or a little more. On October 14, 2025, Microsoft will end support, which means there will be no more security (or feature) updates. You are then potentially vulnerable to newly discovered exploits, as they will not be patched.
So if, like me, you’ve been thinking about upgrading to Windows 11 at some point but have been putting it off, don’t do it again. You could wait another six months or so, but then you’ll look to scale it back nicely, if any unforeseen issues arise. So my idea is to just do it right away when the New Year starts and put the necessary adjustments in place.
In my case, that simply means enabling TPM 2.0 in the BIOS (which I, criminally lazy, simply haven’t been able to do yet). I should note here that your PC may not offer you an upgrade to Windows 11, saying that the device is not supported.
However, if you have a relatively modern PC (purchased within the last five years), you will most likely be fine and, like me, you just need to enable the TPM feature in your BIOS. Use the PC Health Check app to find out if your Windows 10 machine is eligible for a free upgrade to Windows 11; You may need to enable TPM 2.0 (here are Microsoft’s instructions for doing so).
If you can’t upgrade to Windows 11 because you have a CPU that’s too old or don’t have a built-in firmware TPM that you can enable, head to our Windows 10 end-of-life guide to explore other options.
2. The Windows 11 interface is now much better
When Windows 11 first came out in October 2021, the interface failed in a few key ways for me.
The lack of “never merge” for apps on the taskbar was a deal breaker to begin with – that’s my workflow, I don’t want my instances of, say, Chrome windows all stacked together, thanks. There were many other shortcomings on this front (the lack of drag and drop functionality in the taskbar is another obvious example) that added up to some major roadblocks on ‘Route 11’ for me.
The good thing is that in recent years, most of those Windows 11 UI quirks and quirks have been resolved and for me, interface-wise, Route 11 is now clutter-free.
3. Windows 11 24H2 is also another big step forward
Windows 11 24H2 arrived in early October 2024 and took some important steps to improve the operating system. The 24H2 version is actually built on a completely new underlying platform, Germanium, which means that while there aren’t a huge number of visible changes from 23H2, there is a lot of innovation under the hood.
The results? Windows 11 24H2 benefits from stricter security levels, which can never be a bad thing (Windows 11 was already ahead of Windows 10 in this regard).
And more notably, it also has more performance thanks to germanium. Or at least there are many anecdotal reports that Windows 11 is snappier and generally more responsive with 24H2 installed.
So, with that new version rolling out more widely in the New Year, it seems like a good bet to jump on board and (hopefully) enjoy those benefits.
4. It could save me some money
Another potential benefit I’m interested in exploring is the new power saving feature that the 24H2 update introduced.
This is an improved version of the previous battery saver functionality and an important addition is the ability to enable it with a desktop PC. Now, I’m upgrading to Windows 11 on a desktop, and the idea will be to run Energy Saver to keep power usage down even on a PC that’s connected to the mains (Battery Saver, as the name suggests, was more about laptop longevity).
I don’t know exactly how Energy Saver will work, but if it can save me a little money on my electricity bill (and I don’t see why it couldn’t), it will be a big plus, especially in this era of high energy charge prices. public services.
5. Windows 24H2 has other nifty features too
As additional (albeit more minor) update carrots, it’s worth noting that Windows 11 24H2 introduced a few other useful features.
They include built-in support for multiple compression formats (not just basic ZIP), cumulative updates that install faster, and support for Wi-Fi 7 (if you’ve made the jump with your router and PC).
There are also some additional AI tricks, such as Voice Clarity, which dampens background noise so you sound clearer on video calls; Previously this was only for PC Copilot+.
Final thought: Beware of insects?
While I outlined the advantages of Windows 11 24H2 as reasons to adopt the operating system now (and for me, there are enough to push me towards that upgrade button during January), there are some potential disadvantages.
You may have seen reports that the 24H2 version has more than its share of bugs, and that’s true. In fact, there have been too many of these, and some really strange hiccups, perhaps because of that big switch under the hood to germanium.
However, as the January 2024 monthly patch arrives, I hope Microsoft has contained the worst offenders (several cures have already been implemented).
And of course, if you have a PC with a hardware or software configuration that may be prone to a known issue, you won’t be able to implement 24H2 anyway. It will only arrive when the relevant bugs that could cause you problems are fixed, so in that case, it’s just a matter of being patient and hopefully not for too long.
In any case, Windows 11 24H2 is still in the early stages of its gradual rollout, and the floodgates aren’t fully open yet, so you may need to be patient anyway, but it should arrive soon enough in 2025 to most PCs.
