We can only speculate on the finer specifics of the new operating system launch because Microsoft has yet to clarify facts such as the Windows 11 release date and rollout plans. After all, we already know that Microsoft’s next-generation operating system will be released during the “Holiday 2021” season, but we have yet to receive official confirmation from the corporation.
Any hint of a Windows 11 release month or rollout plan, understandably, raises anticipation that we will learn more soon. We’ve already seen references to Windows 11’s October 2021 Update rollout in official teaser trailers and Intel’s driver documentation over the last few weeks.
Windows 11 could be delivered between October and November 2021, according to a new Microsoft whitepaper, and OEMs must submit their drivers by the third week of September. Microsoft’s documentation on “Windows 11 version 21H2 device driver submissions,” which was published on June 24, provided this piece of information.
The “hardware driver submissions” is a Microsoft reference document that gives OEMs a deadline for driver submissions so that essential driver upgrades don’t get delayed and create instability once a major Windows update is issued.
OEMs must now submit their final drivers for Windows 11 version 21H2 by the end of September, according to the document, so that Microsoft has enough time to incorporate them in Windows Update for Windows 11.
According to Microsoft’s documentation, “Partners wanting to achieve compatibility for systems shipping with Windows 11, version 21H2 Release may factory-install drivers for components that achieved compatibility with Windows 10, version 2004 until September 24, 2021.”
Microsoft emphasized in the document’s comments section that this deadline applies to “Windows 11 version 21H2,” not “Windows 10 version 21H2.”Assuming that the current plan holds, Windows 11 might arrive a month later, in the third or fourth week of October 2021. This is consistent with our prior reports, as well as what we’ve seen in Intel’s support doc and teasers from Microsoft.
Release date and deployment plans for Windows 11 have been rumored.
It’s important to remember that plans are susceptible to change, so this doesn’t guarantee that Windows 11 will be released in October, but it’s a strong indicator that’s when Microsoft expects to release it, at least for now.
To be fair, Microsoft has never stated that Windows 11 will be released in October, but this new revelation confirms what we’ve already heard from the rumour mill.
