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Windows 11 has several editions, all with varying feature sets, use cases, or intended devices. Certain editions are distributed only on devices directly from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), while editions such as Enterprise and Education are only available through volume licensing channels. Microsoft also makes editions of Windows 11 available to device manufacturers for use on specific classes of devices, including IoT devices.
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Baseline editions are the only editions available as standalone purchases in retail outlets.
These editions add features to facilitate centralized control of many installations of the OS within an organization. The main avenue of acquiring them is a volume licensing contract with Microsoft.
N
As with previous versions of Windows since Windows XP, all Windows 11 editions for PC hardware have an "N" variation in Europe that excludes certain bundled multimedia functionality, including media players and related components, in order to comply with antitrust rulings. The "Media Feature Pack" can be installed to restore these features. The variation cannot be changed without a clean install, and keys for one variation will not work on other variations.
Home Single Language
In some emerging markets, OEMs preinstall a variation of Windows 11 Home called Single Language without the ability to switch the display language. It is otherwise identical to Windows 11 Home. To change display language, the user will need to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro.
The following sections are nowhere close to being finished and most of the information inside them is taken from Windows 10 editions.
Item | Meaning |
---|---|
Yes | Feature is present in the given edition |
Yes, since [update] | Feature is present in the given edition after installing a certain update |
No | Feature is absent from the given edition |
No, since [update] | Feature is absent from the given edition after installing a certain update (It might have been fully or partly present prior to that update) |
[Explanation] | Feature is partly present in the given edition |
[Explanation], since [update] | Feature is partly present in the given edition, after installing a certain update (It might have been fully present prior to that update, or not present at all) |
Features | Home Single Language | Home | Pro | Pro Education | Education | Pro for Workstations | Enterprise | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Architecture | IA-32, x86-64 | |||||||||||||
Availability | OEM licensing |
OEM, Retail |
OEM, Retail, Volume licensing |
Academic Volume Licensing |
Volume licensing |
OEM (workstation PCs), Retail (upgrade from Home or Pro), Volume licensing |
Volume licensing | |||||||
Has N or KN variants? | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Maximum physical memory (RAM) | 4
GB on IA-32 128 GB on x86-64 |
4
GB on IA-32 2 TB (2048 GB) on x86-64 |
4
GB on IA-32 6 TB (6144 GB) on x86-64 | |||||||||||
Maximum CPU sockets | 1 | 2 | 4 | |||||||||||
Maximum CPU cores | 64 | 128 | 256 | |||||||||||
Minimum telemetry level [a] | Required | Diagnostic data off | Required | Diagnostic data off | ||||||||||
Continuum | Yes | |||||||||||||
Family Safety and Parental Controls | Yes | |||||||||||||
Cortana [b] | Yes | Yes, disabled by default | Yes, since 1703 | Yes | ||||||||||
Hardware device encryption | Yes | |||||||||||||
Microsoft Edge | Yes | |||||||||||||
Multiple language pack support | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Mobile device management | Yes | |||||||||||||
Side-loading of line of business apps | Yes | |||||||||||||
Virtual desktops | Yes | |||||||||||||
Windows Hello [c] | Yes | |||||||||||||
Can pause updates? | Yes, since 1903 | Yes | ||||||||||||
Windows Spotlight | Yes | |||||||||||||
Microsoft Store suggestions | Yes | Yes, disabled by default | Yes | |||||||||||
Remote Desktop | Client only | Client and host | ||||||||||||
Remote App | Client only | Client and host | Client only | Client and host | ||||||||||
ReFS support | Cannot create, since 1709 | Yes | ||||||||||||
Windows Subsystem for Linux | 64-bit SKUs only | 64-bit SKUs only since 1607 | ||||||||||||
Windows Sandbox | No | 64-bit only | ||||||||||||
Hyper-V | No | 64-bit SKUs only | ||||||||||||
Assigned Access 8.1 | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
BitLocker | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Business Store | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Conditional Access | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Device Guard | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Encrypting File System | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Enterprise data protection | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Enterprise Mode Internet Explorer (EMIE) | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Joining a domain and Group Policy management | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Joining a Microsoft Azure Active Directory | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Private catalog | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Windows Analytics | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Windows Information Protection | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Windows Update for Business | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
NVDIMM support | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
Remote Direct Memory Access | No | Yes | ||||||||||||
AppLocker | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
BranchCache | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Credential Guard ( Pass the hash mitigations) | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Microsoft App-V | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Microsoft UE-V | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Start screen control with Group Policy | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
User experience control and lockdown | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Unified Write Filter (UWF) | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
DirectAccess | No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||||||||
Long-term servicing option available (LTSC) | No | Yes | No | No, since version 2004 | ||||||||||
Features | Home Single Language | Home | Pro | Pro Education | Education | Pro for Workstations | Enterprise |
Microsoft OEM licensing formula takes display size, RAM capacity and storage capacity into account. In mid-2015, devices with 4 GB RAM were expected to be $20 more expensive than devices with 2 GB RAM.
At the time of launch, Microsoft deemed Windows 7 (with Service Pack 1) and Windows 8.1 users eligible to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge, so long as the upgrade took place within one year of Windows 10's initial release date. Windows RT and the respective Enterprise editions of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 were excluded from this offer.
Windows version and edition | Windows 10 edition |
---|---|
Windows 7 Starter | Home |
Windows 7 Home Basic | |
Windows 7 Home Premium | |
Windows 8.1 with Bing | |
Windows 8.1 | |
Windows 7 Professional | Pro |
Windows 7 Ultimate | |
Windows 8.1 Pro | |
Windows Phone 8.1 | Mobile |
The following table summarizes possible upgrade paths that can be taken, provided that proper licenses are purchased.
There is no upgrade path that can allow Windows RT 8.1 devices to install Windows 10.
Item | Meaning |
---|---|
Upgrade | Upgrade is possible, preserving apps, settings and data |
Clean | Upgrade is possible, but all apps, settings and data are lost. |
Downgrade | Upgrade is possible, but some features are lost. |
— | Upgrade is impossible under any circumstances. |
Same Edition | The Windows edition and the Upgrade target are the same. |
Windows version |
Windows edition |
Upgrade target | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows 10 Home |
Windows 10 Pro |
Windows 10 Pro for Workstations |
Windows 10 Pro Education |
Windows 10 Education |
Windows 10 Enterprise |
Windows 10 Mobile | ||
Windows 7 | Starter | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Clean | — |
Home Basic | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Clean | — | |
Home Premium | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Clean | — | |
Professional | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Ultimate | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Enterprise | Clean | Clean | Upgrade | Clean | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Windows 8.1 | (Core) | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Clean | — |
with Bing | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Clean | — | |
Pro | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Pro for Students | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Pro with Media Center | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Enterprise | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Embedded Industry | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Upgrade | — | |
Phone 8.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Upgrade | |
Windows 10 | Home | Same Edition | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — |
Pro | Downgrade | Same Edition | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Pro for Workstations | Downgrade | Downgrade | Same Edition | Upgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | — | |
Pro Education | Downgrade | Upgrade | Upgrade | Same Edition | Clean | Clean | — | |
Education | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Same Edition | Upgrade | — | |
Enterprise | Clean | Clean | Clean | Clean | Downgrade | Same Edition | — | |
Mobile | — | — | — | — | — | — | Same Edition |
New releases of Windows 10, called feature updates, are released twice a year as a free update for existing Windows 10 users. Each feature update contains new features and other changes to the operating system. The pace at which a system receives feature updates is dependent on the release branch from which the system downloads its updates. Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise and Education can optionally use a branch that receives updates at a slower pace. These modes can be managed through system settings, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Windows Update for Business, Group Policy or through mobile device management systems such as Microsoft Intune.