On June 24, 2021, Microsoft announced Windows 11. After the announcement, the company released the minimum system requirements for supporting Windows 11. The system requirements irked many users, as the new OS version won’t support Intel 7th generation processors and AMD Zen 1 Processors. PCs with these configurations are well capable of running Windows 11, still Microsoft left behind these processors. According to Microsoft, the minimum hardware requirements include 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen 2 CPUs and up, TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) support, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage.
Also Read: How To Check If My Windows PC Will Support Windows 11?
Users expressed their disappointment over these strict restrictions. You can check the system requirements here. After this wrath from the netizens, Microsoft is reportedly planning to lower the system and going to include Intel 7th generation and AMD Zen 1 CPUs to use the new operating system. Microsoft mentioned that their main priority for Windows 11 is security, reliability and compatibility, because they are trying to provide a holistic solution to WFH.
- Security. Windows 11 raises the bar for security by requiring hardware that can enable protections like Windows Hello, Device Encryption, virtualization-based security (VBS), hypervisor-protected code integrity (HVCI) and Secure Boot. The combination of these features has been shown to reduce malware by 60% on tested devices. To meet the principle, all Windows 11 supported CPUs have an embedded TPM, support secure boot, and support VBS and specific VBS capabilities.
- Reliability. Devices upgraded to Windows 11 will be in a supported and reliable state. By choosing CPUs that have adopted the new Windows Driver model and are supported by our OEM and silicon partners who are achieving a 99.8% crash free experience.
- Compatibility. Windows 11 is designed to be compatible with the apps you use. It has the fundamentals of >1GHz, 2-c.
“As we release to Windows Insiders and partner with our OEMs, we will test to identify devices running on Intel 7th generation and AMD Zen 1 that may meet our principles,” Microsoft said in a new blog post. Check the link and read the entire post. So, users who were freaking out with their newly purchased laptops not supporting Windows 11, can have a sigh of relief.
