Concept
Windows 11 is a major release of the Windows NT developed by Microsoft that was released in October 2021. Starting with Windows 10, Microsoft described Windows as an "operating system as a service" that would receive ongoing updates to its features and functionality, augmented with the ability for enterprise environments to receive non-critical updates at a slower pace or use long-term support milestones that will only receive critical updates, such as security patches, over their five-year lifespan of mainstream support. Windows Insider#Channels Windows Insider Preview builds are delivered to Insiders in four different channels. Insiders in the Dev and Canary Channel receive updates prior to those in the Beta Channel, but might experience more bugs and other issues. Insiders in the Release Preview Channel do not receive updates until the version is almost available to the public, but are comparatively more stable. As with Windows 10 (since version 20H2), mainstream builds of Windows 11 are labeled "YYHX", with YY representing the two-digit year and X representing the half-year of planned release (for example, version 21H2 refers to builds which initially released in the second half of 2021). The original version of Windows 11 (also known as version 21H2 and codenamed "Sun Valley") was released in October 2021. It carries the build number 10.0.22000. The first public preview build was made available to Windows Insiders who opted in to the Dev Channel on June 28, 2021. The Windows 11 2022 Update (also known as version 22H2 and codenamed "Sun Valley 2") is the first and current major update to Windows 11. It carries the build number 10.0.22621. The first preview was released to Insiders who opted in to the Dev Channel on September 2, 2021. The update began rolling out on September 20, 2022.