Windows 11 downloaded and running on a smartphone? Yes, just see what happened here

Windows 11 has just been downloaded and booted up on a smartphone. Yes, that is exactly what has happened. In fact, considering the heavy minimum hardware requirements listed by Microsoft, this looks like a mission impossible moment. So many people have in fact complained that their computers are not being allowed to download Windows 11 as they do not have minimum requirements listed by Microsoft. However, now, it has so transpired that a Windows Engineering student by the name of Gustave Monce has managed to get Microsoft Windows 11 to run on a Lumia 950 XL. Monce has shared a video on YouTube showing the Lumia 950 XL successfully running Windows 11. It’s quite exciting since Windows 11 isn’t even official yet and only the first beta build has been released so far. Monce has worked on this project along with a team that has a dedicated website with tools and guides for those interested in installing Windows 10 and Windows 11 to old Windows Phones.

Windows 11 on a smartphone

In the video shared by Monce on YouTube, we can see the Lumia 950 XL running Windows 11. The user interface blends quite nicely with the Windows Phone with most of the apps functioning, albeit a little slowly. Unlike how you’d see it on a PC or laptop, on the Lumia 950 XL, the icons in the taskbar take up the entire space of the phone. There’s the Start button and the search button just next to it. The left screen with the widgets is also visible but there’s no content displayed on them. You can also notice that the Lumia 950 XL is indeed slow, which is expected, and the apps and features require tapping on them a couple of times to open.

Also read: Looking for a smartphone? Check Mobile Finder here.

Project Windows

This project of running Windows on Windows Phones started five years ago for Monce who teamed up with another engineer Bingxing Wang, according to The Verge. “I wouldn’t say we were quite fast to do it, we took four years to get to the current state, but it’s actually impressive we got here with not much documentation on hand,” Mince was quoted as saying by The Verge. “Because of all that work for Windows 10 and the work we previously did to support Windows 10X, Windows 11 was a natural path forward, and really didn’t take much to get going,” Monce added.

Monce has a team now with around 15 people. They have a dedicated website which has detailed guides along with tools for people interested in running Windows 10 and Windows 11 on their old Windows Phones.