Microsoft announced its next operating system with the unveiling of Windows 11. The new Windows update brings a fresh, clean design along with a beautiful macOS-like interface. Though it will be a free upgrade for Windows 10 PCs, you need to know and verify the Windows 11 system requirements.
About the new OS rollout, here’s a snippet of a blog: “The free upgrade will begin to roll out to eligible Windows 10 PCs this holiday and continuing into 2022,” written by the Windows and Surface head – Panos Panay.
In order to try and test out your device compatibility, we’ve shared the official Microsoft list of Minimum Windows 11 System Requirements. The new upgrade from Windows came after around a gap of 6 years and is considered to be the first version of a new era of Windows, by Microsoft CEO – Satya Nadella, himself.
Read along the article to find the Windows 11 system requirements along with some feature-specific requirements for certain important key features such as Cortana, AutoHDR, and more.
In This Article
Windows 11 System Requirements
Designed to give a great user experience, Windows 11 comes with a lot of features to unlock the full potential of your PC. And for that, your personal computer must conform to the system requirements to run the latest Windows 11 upgrade.
Why New System Requirements For Windows 11?
To meet people’s expectations and computing needs across various factors such as video conferencing, multitasking, playing, creating, building, learning, and more, Microsoft has established some minimum system requirements.
These system requirements enable both the software and hardware parts of your system to adapt to one another’s needs in order to harness the true power of your PC and to deliver the best user experiences. For that, a certain list of principles is followed. Let’s have a brief look at those principles:
1. Security
With the latest Windows 11, you’ll require hardware that supports features like Windows Hello, Device Encryption, Virtualization-Based Security (VBS), HyperVisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI), and Secure Boot in an attempt to raise the bar for security.
These protection features have been shown to reduce malware by 60% among the tested device systems. In order to meet this principle, all CPUs supporting Windows 11 are required to have an embedded TPM (Trusted Platform Module).
2. Reliability
With the new Windows update, users will get a better, more stable, and reliable version for their computing systems. To achieve a reliable system experience that supports Windows 11, users will need to choose CPUs with the new Windows Driver models. Tests have shown Microsoft-supported OEM partner systems achieving a 99.8% crash-free stable experience.
3. Compatibility
In order to be compatible with the widely used apps, Windows 11 is designed with some fundamental system requirements so as to use apps including Office, Microsoft Teams among various others.
PC Health Check App Removed?
PC Health Check App was the tool advertised by Microsoft in order to check and test whether your PC meets the requirements for upgrading to Windows 11 or not. Since then, many people who tried and tested the tool reported that it was not giving enough details as to why their device was not compatible.
Eventually, the company temporarily removed the tool, in a move towards acknowledging its unpreparedness. The company also mentioned in a post that it plans to address the feedback and get the tool back online sometime in the fall before the general availability of Windows 11.
Though the recommended tool has been removed, you can still figure out if your system device will support and run Windows 11 or not, by checking out the minimum system requirements list below.
List of Windows 11 System Requirements
| SPECIFICATIONS | REQUIREMENT |
| Processor | 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC) |
| RAM | 4 gigabyte (GB) |
| Storage | 64 GB or larger storage device |
| System Firmware | UEFI, Secure Boot capable |
| TPM | Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0 |
| Graphics Card | Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver |
| Display | High definition (720p) display that is greater than 9” diagonally, 8 bits per color channel |
| Internet connection and Microsoft accounts | Windows 11 Home edition requires internet connectivity and a Microsoft account to complete device setup on first use. Switching a device out of Windows 11 Home in S mode also requires internet connectivity. For all Windows 11 editions, internet access is required to perform updates and to download and take advantage of some features. A Microsoft account is required for some features. |
Windows 11 Feature-specific Requirements
Beyond the above-listed minimum requirements for Windows 11, some features in Windows 11 require additional requirements. Following is a list of some of the key features along with their requirements:
| Features | Requirement(s) |
| 5G support | 5G capable modem. |
| Auto HDR | HDR monitor. |
| BitLocker to Go | USB flash drive (available in Windows Pro and above editions). |
| Client Hyper-V | Processor with second-level address translation (SLAT) capabilities (available in Windows Pro and above editions). |
| Cortana | A microphone and speaker. |
| DirectStorage | NVMe SSD to store and run games that use the Standard NVM Express Controller driver and a DirectX12 GPU with Shader Model 6.0 support. |
| Presence | Sensor that can detect human distance from device or intent to interact with device. |
| Intelligent Video Conferencing | Video camera, microphone, and speaker (audio output). |
| Multiple Voice Assistant (MVA) | A microphone and speaker. |
| Snap three-column layouts | Screen that is 1920 effective pixels or greater in width. |
| Mute/Unmute from Taskbar | Video camera, microphone, and speaker (audio output). |
| Spatial Sound | Supporting hardware and software. |
| Teams | Video camera, microphone, and speaker (audio output). |
| Touch | A screen or monitor with multi-touch support. |
| Two-factor Authentication | Use of PIN, biometric (fingerprint reader or illuminated IR camera), or a smartphone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth support. |
| Voice Typing | A PC with a microphone. |
Wrapping Up
This concludes our article on the major requirements of the new Windows update for your devices. We hope that you find the lists of Windows 11 System Requirements and Feature-specific requirements helpful to check whether your device is compatible for upgrade or not. Let us know what you think about the Windows 11 update in the comment section below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the requirements of Windows 11?
The requirements of Windows 11 are-
Processor- 1GHz or above
RAM- 4GB or above
Storage- 64GB or above
TPM- Version 2.0 or above
Graphics Card- Compatible with DirectX 12 or later with WDDM 2.0 driver
Does my PC meet Windows 11 requirements?
You can cross-check whether your PC meets Windows 11 system requirements or not. Read this list and then go to the settings of your PC to know about the specifications. You can also use a tool to check the same.
Why are Windows 11 requirements so high?
The reason behind such high Windows 11 system requirements is security and performance. The new mac-like interface will run super smooth only if your PC meets the minimum system requirements of Windows 11.
Is Windows 11 free?
For every Windows 10 user, Windows 11 will be available to you as a free update. Go to Settings. Click on Update and Security and check for Updates.
Feature Image Credit: nixloop
