Skip to main content

Windows 11 might nag you about AI requirements soon

Windows 11 Copilot.
Jon Martindale / DigitalTrends

After recent reports of new hardware requirements for the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update, it is evident that Microsoft is gearing up to introduce a bunch of new AI features. A new report now suggests that the company is working on adding new code to the operating system to alert users if they fail to match the minimum requirements to run AI-based applications.

According to Albacore on X (formerly known as Twitter), systems that do not meet the requirements will display a warning message in the form of a watermark. After digging into the latest Windows 11 Insider Build 26200, he came across requirements coded in the operating system for an upcoming AI File Explorer feature. The minimum requirement includes an ARM64 processor, 16GB of memory, 225GB of total storage, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite NPU.

Recommended Videos

Turns out Windows 11 build 26100 (purported 24H2 RTM) contains the AI Explorer requirements 📃 baked into the OS
💠 ARM64 CPU
💠 16GiB of RAM
💠 225GiB system drive (total, not free space)
💠 Snapdragon X Elite NPU (HWID QCOM0D0A)
I guess that's one way to drive ARM64 adoption 😶‍🌫️ pic.twitter.com/ZbQf4KY1BN

— Albacore ☁️ (@thebookisclosed) April 18, 2024

Apparently, the new AI File Explorer is going to be called Advanced Copilot, and will offer features akin to a modern version of Cortana. Yes, the same app that was retired in August of last year. While the choice of the CPU seems odd, Neowin points out that the feature could be exclusive to new Surface devices, or Microsoft may have plans to add support for other PCs at a later stage. Notably, there is a way to bypass this check by simply disabling ID 48486440 on the RTM build.

The new hardware compatibility follows in the footsteps of recently discovered requirements of the POPCNT and SSE 4.2 instruction sets. Essentially, CPUs with support for the POPCNT and SSE 4.2 will be necessary to boot Windows 11. As mentioned before, the hardware compatibility for Windows 11 does not include older CPUs, thus users who already have compatible hardware should be unaffected.

It is important to note that Microsoft has not released an official statement regarding minimum hardware requirements for the Windows 11 24H2 update. The company is currently testing new features which may or may not end up in the final release.

Kunal Khullar
Kunal Khullar is a computing writer at Digital Trends who contributes to various topics, including CPUs, GPUs, monitors, and…
It’s official — Microsoft WordPad is dead after 29 years
A screenshot of Microsoft WordPad running on Windows 11.

The Windows 11 2024 Update, otherwise known as version 24H2, started rolling out yesterday, but if you've already updated, you might notice something is missing. WordPad's deprecation has become a reality, as it has been completely removed from the new version of Windows 11.

This might not be a big deal to most users -- the lack of people using the app is part of the reason it was deprecated, after all. If you don't know, WordPad has been around since Windows 95, and in terms of features and functionality, it offers more than Notepad, but less than Microsoft Word.

Read more
Microsoft is finally making Copilot+ laptops useful for AI
Microsoft Surface Pro 11 front view in tablet mode.

Microsoft's Copilot+ PC initiative has been a smash hit, with many of them landing among the best laptops, but not for the AI hardware inside. Now, finally, Microsoft is putting the neural processing unit (NPU) inside Copilot+ PCs to good use. Starting today and going throughout the next two months, Microsoft will begin rolling out the 24H2 update for all Windows 11 PCs, and in the process, unlock several features for Copilot+ PCs, including the highly controversial Recall.

Recall is definitely the star of the show here, which will start showing up on Copilot+ laptops with a Snapdragon X chipset throughout October. Last week, Microsoft laid the groundwork for the release of Recall, detailing the security architecture of the feature and addressing some major criticisms of it. Now, for example, Recall is turned off instead of on by default. Microsoft is also allowing users to filter websites and giving users more control over their snapshots, including deleting them all.

Read more
Whatever you do, don’t install the Windows 11 September update
Windows 11 logo on a laptop.

Microsoft has warned users in a post on its support blog that the September KB5043145 update, released on Thursday, is causing some Windows 11 PCs to restart multiple times, show the blue screen of death, or even freeze.

The problems in the recent update affect those on the 22H2 or 23H3 version of Windows 11. However, Microsoft said it is investigating the issue and will provide more information when it's available. Microsoft confirmed: "After installing this update, some customers have reported that their device restarts multiple times or becomes unresponsive with blue or green screens. According to the reports, some devices automatically open the Automatic Repair tool after repeated restart attempts. In some cases, BitLocker recovery can also be triggered."

Read more