Windows 11
Windows 11 is a version of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021, as the successor to Windows 10 (2015). It is available as a free upgrade for devices running Windows 10 that meet the #System requirements, Windo ...
2024 Update (also known as version 24H2, codenamed Hudson Valley) is the third and latest major update to Windows 11. It carries the build number 10.0.26100.
Overview
The first preview was released to Insiders who opted in to the Canary and Dev Channels on February 8, 2024. The update began rolling out for Copilot Plus PCs on June 15, 2024. As of build 26052, the version string has been changed from "23H2" to "24H2". The update began rolling out to all users on October 1, 2024.
Version 24H2 notably introduces the first Windows 11 based Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) editions, along with new subscription variants of IoT Enterprise editions (both LTSC and non-LTSC).
The update will reach end of service on October 13, 2026, for Home, Pro, Pro Education, Pro for Workstations and SE editions. The Enterprise, Enterprise multi-session, IoT Enterprise and Education editions will reach end of service on October 12, 2027. The Enterprise LTSC and IoT Enterprise LTSC editions will reach end of service on October 9, 2029, and October 10, 2034, respectively.
System requirements
For the first time since the release of Windows 11, version 24H2 introduces modified system requirements:
* A
x86-64-v2
x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit extension of the x86 instruction set architecture, instruction set. It was announced in 1999 and first available in the AMD Opteron family in 2003. It introduces two new ope ...
POPCNT
SSE4 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 4) is a SIMD CPU instruction set used in the Intel Core microarchitecture and AMD K10 (K8L). It was announced on September 27, 2006, at the Fall 2006 Intel Developer Forum, with vague details in a white paper;
CPU instruction
In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binaryOn nonbi ...
s is now required, otherwise the Windows kernel is unbootable. (Only affecting systems bypassing the requirements, along with all 24H2 IoT Enterprise editions.)
* IoT Enterprise editions (LTSC and non-LTSC) have officially eliminated a TPM and
UEFI
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI, as an acronym) is a Specification (technical standard), specification for the firmware Software architecture, architecture of a computing platform. When a computer booting, is powered on, the UEFI ...
requirement, and lowers the minimum
DirectX
Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct" ...
version to 10 from 12, which was previously required on 23H2.
* The new IoT Enterprise LTSC edition lowers the minimum required RAM to 2 GB, and storage space to 16 GB.
*
ARMv8.1
AArch64, also known as ARM64, is a 64-bit version of the ARM architecture family, a widely used set of computer processor designs. It was introduced in 2011 with the ARMv8 architecture and later became part of the ARMv9 series. AArch64 allows pr ...
is now required for ARM variants, dropping unofficial support for ARMv8.0. On ARMv8.0 CPUs, the Windows kernel is unbootable.
* ARM variants drop support for 32-bit ARM applications. Only 64-bit ARM applications will run.
Known issues
Version 24H2, notably, has a longer than usual list of known issues; some require updated drivers to fix, while others have yet to be fixed as of February 2025. E.g., broken biometrics and camera support on a limited number of devices, and some older games and applications not functioning properly or not working at all; e.g.,
Asphalt 8
''Asphalt 8: Airborne'' is a 2013 arcade-style racing game developed by Gameloft Barcelona and published by Gameloft. It is the eighth major game in the ''Asphalt'' series. It was released on August 22, 2013, for iOS and Android, on November ...
(resolved since March 19, 2025), Dirac audio improvement software (if cridspapo.dll is utilized), and
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is a 2D and
3D computer-aided design (CAD) software application developed by Autodesk. It was first released in December 1982 for the CP/M and IBM PC platforms as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics control ...
2022.
New features
* Windows 11 HDR background support for HDR monitors
* Support for
Wi-Fi 7
IEEE 802.11be, dubbed ''Extremely High Throughput (EHT)'', is a wireless networking standard in the IEEE 802.11 set of protocols which is designated by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It has built upon 802.11ax, focusing on WLAN indoor and outdoor opera ...
(802.11be), which enhances data transfer speeds, along with new user interface elements to refresh the list of Wi-Fi networks and indicate scan progress
* Support for
Bluetooth LE
Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE, colloquially BLE, formerly marketed as Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal area network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) aimed at novel applications i ...
audio
* Windows 11 Search adds the ability to search for documents and photos using descriptive phrases instead of just file names
* Auto Super Resolution boosts frame rates for certain games while maintaining visual quality; requires a Copilot+ PC with a Snapdragon X processor
* Windows Recall (preview) which lets users find content they have already viewed. Delayed and only being released in preview status due to the amount of negative feedback that it received when it was first introduced, this feature requires
Windows Hello
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. The successor to Windows 8.1, it was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on July 29, 2015. Windows 10 was made available for download vi ...
for secure access (because it may display sensitive data) and can be disabled.
* Windows Studio Effects for cameras and microphones in supported applications including
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a team collaboration platform developed by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. It offers features such as workspace chat, video conferencing, file storage, and integration with both Microsoft and third-party applicat ...
,
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen
* ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli
* ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film
* ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...
,
Google Meet
Google Meet is a video communication service developed by Google. It is one of two apps that constitute the replacement for Google Hangouts, the other being Google Chat. It replaced the consumer-facing Google Duo on November 1, 2022, with ...
,
Skype
Skype () was a proprietary telecommunications application operated by Skype Technologies, a division of Microsoft, best known for IP-based videotelephony, videoconferencing and voice calls. It also had instant messaging, file transfer, ...
, and the Microsoft Camera app; effects include backdrop blur, eye correction, portrait lighting, and illustrative filters
* Windows Click to Do (preview): an interactive PC screen overlay with several functions for tasks including text summarizing or sending, blending backgrounds in pictures, and using
Microsoft Bing
Microsoft Bing (also known simply as Bing) is a search engine owned and operated by Microsoft. The service traces its roots back to Microsoft's earlier search engines, including MSN Search, Windows Live Search, and Live Search. Bing offers a ...
for
visual search
Visual search is a type of perception, perceptual task requiring attention that typically involves an active scan of the visual environment for a particular object or feature (the target) among other objects or features (the distractors). Visual s ...