Intel has those wondering about the release date of Windows 11 in a frenzy, ever since the company updated its “planned release” notes about its drivers. Microsoft hasn’t come forth with an exact launch date for the operating system just yet, simply claiming that it will happen later this year (originally stating that it could delay into the next as they slowly roll it out to supported machines).
However, Intel’s notes had made reference to “Windows* 11-64 – October 2021 Update – version 21H2” for the latest upcoming update to the Intel drivers for processors ranging as far back as the 6th Gen Skylake family.
Since then, the notes have been updated, leaving that line as just “Microsoft Windows* 11-64”, dropping the reference to any specific date. Either because this was a mistake of incorrect information, or because they weren’t supposed to reveal that information just yet.
At the moment, it is more speculation than anything else. However, a leak is a leak, and it is going to get people excited over the chance that it could have been legitimate. For now, Microsoft still hasn’t released any specific dates.
Meanwhile, Windows 11 is indeed mentioned one way or another. This makes it interesting since Skylake and Kaby Lake processor families are mentioned when Microsoft had originally stated that Gen 8th or newer would be required due to the TPM 2.0 compatibility requirement. Earlier generations were even excluded from Microsoft’s compatible processor list. However, comments were later made that there could be a chance of adjusting these requirements to make the update to Windows 11 a little easier on consumers than forcing so many to have to buy into or upgrade their systems.
So maybe, just maybe, processors as early as the Skylake family will be able to make the upgrade. Of course, it would be a less secure experience since the user wouldn’t be taking full advantage of the security improvements that the OS is focused on.
