At present, Windows 7/8.1 can still be upgraded to Windows 10 system for free in some ways. According to the Windows 11 system image that was stolen today, Windows 7/8.1 devices may also be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free.
Foreign media XDA found a Windows 11 product configuration key for Windows 7/8.1 in the mirror. This means that Microsoft can open the door to allow users of older versions to upgrade to Windows 11 for free. Interestingly, Windows 8 is not on this list, which means users must upgrade to Windows 8.1 before upgrading to Windows 11.
Of course, the update is also free for Windows 10 users, especially Windows 11 does not seem to be an upgrade. So far, most of the leaked changes seem to revolve around appearance, with the start menu and taskbar being the biggest behavior changes. Windows 11 looks a lot like Windows 10X, but there is no change in the underlying architecture. It can be easily released through another Windows 10 feature update.
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