Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and USC School of Media and Journalism Principal Annenberg Willow Bay speak on stage during the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. October 2017 in Beverly Hills, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images Entertainment | beautiful pictures
On Friday, Microsoft said it would allow a wide range of PC chips to run Windows 11, the next-generation desktop operating system it expects to release later this year.
This decision has the potential to reduce the number of people and organizations that need to purchase new computers to access the latest Windows features. That could hurt the Windows business, which accounts for 14% of Microsoft’s total revenue and is more profitable than other products the company sells.
At the same time, Microsoft wants to minimize frustration among its customers. Some people think that Microsoft is unnecessarily restricting their system requirements for Windows 11.
When Microsoft announced the new version in June, it sought to limit support for AMD’s Zen 2 chips, Intel’s eighth-generation chips, and Qualcomm’s Series 7 and 8 chips.
However, the company directed people to an app called PC Health Check to find out if their PCs could work with Windows 11. The program wasn’t specific about which computer components didn’t. respond to Microsoft’s request, drawing criticism.
Additionally, Microsoft’s website displays conflicting information about the hardware specifications a computer needs for Windows 11. One page suggests that PCs with older processors and security chips can upgrade, while another site suggested the opposite.
Four days after the initial announcement, Microsoft attempted to clarify the issue. The company said in a blog post that it is temporarily removing the PC Health Check app, noting that PCs need newer security chips, and that it will “check to identify devices running on the Intel world. 7th generation and AMD Zen 1 could meet our guidelines.”
Microsoft said in a new blog post on Friday that Windows 11 will not support AMD Zen 1 chips, although it will be compatible with seventh-generation Core X and Xeon W chips. The operating system can also be installed on certain computers containing Intel’s seventh-generation 7820HQ processors, including Microsoft’s Surface Studio 2 all-in-one PC, which will be phased out under the policy. initial.
Intel’s seventh-generation processors launched in 2016, followed by eighth-generation in 2017. Windows 10, is currently the world’s most popular PC operating system with 1.3 billion active devices. motion, launched in 2015.
Microsoft says it is releasing an updated version of its PC Health Check app that will point out specific computer parts that don’t meet the latest requirements and direct people to information on how to comply. Initially, the software was only available to testers in Microsoft’s Windows Insider program. It will be available to everyone in the coming weeks
The company pointed to data from the Insider program that shows that PCs that match the requirements are more reliable.
“Devices that do not meet the minimum system requirements have 52% more kernel crashes (blue screens) than those that meet the requirements,” Microsoft said. “Additionally, app crashes are 17% higher, and for first-party apps we see 43% more crashes on unsupported hardware.”
Microsoft also protects the minimum requirements for security and compatibility reasons.
“We used more than 8.2 trillion signals from Microsoft’s threat intelligence, reverse engineering attacks, and input from leading experts like the NSA, Security Center UK National Cybersecurity Center and the Canadian Cybersecurity Center to design a security baseline in Windows 11. addressing growing threats that software alone cannot address,” the company said. in a blog post on Friday.
CLOCK: Microsoft Teams Drive Growth: Alex Zukin of Wolfe Research
