Microsoft releases physical copies of Windows 11 to retail partners

Microsoft has been doing all it can to make a PC's transition to running Windows 11 as inevitable - or convenient, as the Redmond giant would probably rather we put it - as possible since its release as a stable OS version.

It is also, of course, available by default on a huge number of machines new to the market since 2021. However, in cases of users for whom either route to the latest iteration is somehow not an option, there are also physical copies available to buy.

Given that this is 2022 after all, these editions of the OS come on their own USB key, which, according to Microsoft's official imagery, come in the typical cardboard box when ordered. As contradictory to prevailing sustainability and anti-waste ethics as this might seem, it does at least mean one gets a free flash drive (of some kind) for the normal retail cost of a new official full image of Windows 11.

On that note, these latest iterations of the OEM-licensed OS are listed at the typical prices of US$139.99 or $199.99 for Windows 11 Home or Pro respectively. They have been added to Amazon and Best Buy online, although they are out of stock on the former at the moment.