- Microsoft has revealed its new Windows Roadmap portal
- The roadmap aims to clarify exactly the incoming features for Windows 11 and when they arrive
- The idea is to reduce any confusion in terms of future features, although it is still the start of the portal
Have you ever been confused on what is happening with the incoming changes to Windows 11? I would not blame you-I end up scratching my head with regard to the features that are in preparation, and I write on the Microsoft operating system to live (among many other technological subjects, that is to say).
Microsoft himself recognizes a lack of clarity on the features that progress in Windows 11 tests, and wishes to improve the situation with a new innovation in the form of a roadmap.
As Windows Central reports, the new Microsoft roadmap portal is now live, the company describing the reasoning behind the new website in a blog article.
Microsoft declares that: “The Windows roadmap provides estimated release dates and descriptions for published features. All information is likely to modify. A functionality or a product is canceled or postponed, the information will be deleted from this website. ”
So, it is not because a feature is mentioned on the roadmap that it is guaranteed for inclusion in Windows 11. It has always been true for the functionalities in the tests, however – if it does not work, or if the testers give a lot of negative comments, there is always a chance that Microsoft empties a functionality, and you will never see it again. (Or it will emerge in the future, in a somewhat different form, perhaps).
Analysis: early for a useful portal
An initiative like this is, of course, an initiative of Microsoft. However, if you clicked on and have traveled the above blog post, you have surely noticed that it is intended for IT professionals – those who manage computers for organizations. Indeed, when you have to take care of a PC fleet running Windows 11, there is a lot of complexity involved, and you must really stay fully aware of the changes could be to come for the operating system.
But still, the average consumer – like me or you – will probably also find the new Windows roadmap useful for traveling, just to see what new features are on the horizon. Or, if there is a capacity that you really want and that you do not yet have, you can use the portal to clarify if it is really deployed on Windows 11 PCs, and what is the general availability date expected.
It should also help eliminate confusion when certain features seem to ignore the test channels. There are four of these Microsoft uses, from the oldest (Canari) to just before the release (preview channel), and sometimes the features will simply appear in subsequent channels, without even being presented to the first testers.
In short, this invention should allow you to more easily follow the progress of everything that is in preparation for Windows 11, although by looking at the roadmap now, I always meet minor points of confusion.
Take an example of the PC specification cards, which were spotted hidden in the background of test constructions at the start of this year, before passing suddenly, then almost directly in the last update of the Windows 11 overview this week (before the release next month). Blink and you missed the progression of this particular characteristic of tests, and its rapid change through the gears was quite strange to assist.
So, what does the Windows roadmap say on these specific cards? First, that the start date of deployment is in March 2025, and what it means is that the functionality is only deployed now – what means a progressive deployment, so even if you have installed the update of the preview of March, you may not see it (for the moment. The expected availability is then listed as the “monthly update not security April 2025” Overview at the end of April.
What I do not understand very well here is that the greatest availability will surely be the complete patch of May 2025 (which will become the update of the April 2025 preview) – as far from everyone downloads the preview or the optional (non -security) updates. Most people only get the full version, so really, that the next update in May would surely represent the full availability of functionality. Isn’t it?
Okay, so maybe I’m going here, and I understand that the essential is that for the full update (not seen) in April, PC specification cards will simply be unrolled – and not provided to everyone – but I think Microsoft could do it better.
Anyway, even if there are a few wrinkles to be repelled, it is, of course, again the first days for the roadmap, and this should be a useful tool to keep an eye on what is imminent for Windows 11.
