Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades

Microsoft Offers Win 11 22H2 Version Upgrades for Users Whose Hardware is not supported

Microsoft yesterday offered Windows 11 version 22H2 in the Release Preview Ring, and it seems that some Windows 10 users with unsupported hardware are currently seeing the update in Windows Update.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

A long thread on Windows 11 subreddit (via Neowin) has various testimonies from Windows 10 users who have been able to install updates on their unsupported PCs.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

Windows 11, version 22H2 is currently available to Seekers in the Release Preview ring, including those still using Windows 10. Reddit user AceRimmer412 released a screenshot of Windows Update that allows him to download the Intel Core i5-7200 CPU that is not supported by Windows 11 version 22H2 on his Windows 10 PC.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

Reddit user JMHC also claims to have offered an update on its Surface Book 2 that comes with an unsupported Core i5-7300U CPU. It says not supported on the right panel, but Windows 11 updates are in the queue. I just finished the update and everything looks good," the message reads.

Windows 10 users have many other similar testimonies that have seen updates on this Reddit thread, some of which are even on older hardware. However, this unexpected Windows Update behaviour seems very random.

"Windows Update also says Windows 11 runs on my 4th generation i7 laptop... But the problem is... When I check Windows Insider... It still says that my laptop does not meet the system requirements of 11... Strange," Reddit wrote the user Hanato Kobato in the same thread.

It's unclear if Microsoft pressed the wrong button somewhere, but the company doesn't seem to be updating its list of Windows 11-enabled CPUs to add more older models. Anyway, if you're a Windows Insider and have a PC that isn't eligible for a free Windows 11 upgrade if you've noticed any changes to Windows Update since yesterday, let us know in the comments.

3:50 p.m. EST update: The Windows Insider team has confirmed that this is actually a bug under investigation. "The requirements have not changed. We're looking into this situation," the team said on Twitter.

Microsoft announces the release of Win11 22H2: Start Menu Improvements

With Windows 11, version 22H2 now complete, I'll start a series of checks for new features and functionality in this release. I think it's fair to say that the original version of Windows 11 (version 21H2) was incomplete and inconsistent, it showed a major functional regression, and there were no really compelling updates to its built-in applications. The question is whether this update will correct these errors.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

I will leave this decision for an upcoming review, but my current position is that 22H2 only partially resolves the complaint about 21H2. The good news is that it does add a couple of useful new features that I feel have greatly improved the Windows 11 experience and brought it closer to what we expected from the initial release in terms of quality and functionality.

Anyway, let's get started, well, to get started. Derived from its brief Windows 10X experiment, the Windows 11 Start Menu is greatly simplified compared to our interface in Windows 10, and it loses some key interfaces, especially live tiles and some key features. This new Start Menu has two main interfaces — a fixed area for the app icon and a recommended area that inexplicably combines recent documents and recently installed apps — plus user accounts and power options, as well as a secondary interface for all apps and more recommended items.

Tip: Windows 11 at least allows you to disable the display of recently installed apps in Recommended.

There are many problems with the Windows 11 Start Menu. But my biggest complaint is how simple it was in the original version. Pinned and/or recommended areas cannot be hidden, and if you remove enough icons from the pinned area, the recommended areas will not automatically fill in the empty areas. Instead, you'll leave a useful hole in the middle of the Start menu. Come on, Microsoft.

Windows 11 22H2 doesn't completely solve these problems. But it does offer a new layout interface in The Start Settings (Settings > Personalization > Start) that lets you choose between three layouts: more pushpins (where fixed areas get more icon rows and recommendations get fewer), default (valid as 21H2) and more recommendations (where the recommended area gets more icon rows and Pinned gets fewer).

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

No, it's not the complexity I'd like, and it doesn't completely address my criticism. But this is at least a step in the right direction.

Tip: If you want to pin your app to the taskbar from the Start menu, you can now do so from Pin. Previously, this only worked for all applications.

Microsoft has also added (back) support for folders in the Start menu. As you might expect, they only appear in the Pinned area, and creating folders works the same way as before: just drag one application icon onto another application icon inside Pinned.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

When you do this, a folder named Folder is created.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

When you open a folder, it appears as a floating window above Start, and there is an empty area where the Pin Chinese clip is usually located.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

You can rename this folder by opening it and selecting the Edit Name field at the top.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

You can also reorder the icons in the folder. To delete a folder, simply move all the icons out (or delete them). That is, you can't just right-click on a folder and delete it.

Tip: There are also some new start gestures for users of touch-based PCs. You can start by swiping up from the middle bottom of the display to show (or hide). You can swipe left or right on pinned to show all the apps (and then go back to start).

Microsoft Win11 22H2 adds a new task manager and other features

Windows 11 22H2 doesn't have any groundbreaking new features (although there are some quality improvements here and there). However, this version of the operating system has a big change - a brand new task manager with WinUI, Fluent Design, Mica, etc.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

The new Task Manager is not a complete overhaul of existing applications. The home page has been redesigned, and the Tabs (i.e., Processes, Performance, Network) that are usually at the top of the application have been moved to the side. The reason is that the company wants to make the task manager more suitable for tablets and "modern".

As you can see in the screenshot below, the Task Manager window now uses the new mica translucent material. For starters, Mica is a new "design asset" designed to align the background colour of an application window or title bar with a desktop background to produce a beautiful "colour layer."

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

The mica material used in Task Manager is not transparent. In other words, if you open Task Manager on top of another application, such as Paint, Windows 11 will still apply the theme colour of the desktop background to the task manager's title bar.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

According to Microsoft officials, this won't come at the expense of performance. The company insists that performance remains a top priority for the Windows 11 Task Manager overhaul, and they "want to make sure all these new features (mica and rounded corners) are super fast."

In addition to the new tab layout and design, Microsoft has moved common actions such as creating new tasks and ending tasks to the top. These common actions change when you switch between tabs in Task Manager.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

Overall, the design may look similar to the current iteration, but the background now supports dark mode and is full of rounded corners. This is another step in bringing Task Manager more in line with Microsoft's vision for a modern and visually appealing interface.

Pages such as Processes now follow the system-wide Windows 11 theme colours.

New performance-friendly features in Task Manager

The main feature update of Task Manager is Efficiency Mode, which is a new way to ensure that you have control over certain processes. With efficiency mode, you can reduce CPU stress by minimizing the use of system resources based on processes. This can lead to faster front-office response and better energy efficiency.

Microsoft Offers Win11 22H2 Version Upgrades 

The efficiency model of Task Manager leverages EcoQoS to limit process resource usage by lowering process priority. When a process is lowered in priority, applications that depend on that process do not simply end. Instead, it will stay in the background and allow other important applications/processes to run efficiently on the CPU.

Windows 11 22H2 will begin rolling out Task Manager, Start Menu features, and more to users in October.