Likely Windows 12 Hardware System Requirements Begin to Surface

Post the many controversies surrounding Windows 11 system requirements, attention has now diverted toward Windows 12's hardware system requirements. Despite being protected fiercely by Microsoft and a launch date many days away, some details regarding its system requirements have started to divulge.

According to reports, the upcoming operating system has been in the works since February 2022. Microsoft, refers to it internally as "Next valley." Even though the final version is not expected until the second half of 2024, there have been enough developments on the software front to gauge its hardware requirements.

Possible Hardware Specifications for Windows 12

Word doing the rounds is that Microsoft aims to make Windows 12 compatible with Intel's 14th Gen Meteor Lake-S desktop processors out of the box, pointing to the fact that PCs with such CPUs may be the first to run the future operating system.

The Pluton coprocessor, introduced initially on the Ryzen 6000 mobile CPUs in January 2022, is likely to be supported by Microsoft's Windows 12. The same protection modules used on Windows 11, TPM 2.0 Trusted Platform Module, will reportedly be retained as the security crypto-processor in Windows 12 as well.

In a RAM upgrade from the previous Windows 11, Windows 12 is expected to have 8GB of RAM. At present, one would need a minimum of 64GB storage to install Windows 11, but not much has been said about the storage specifications of the new operating system.

All we know for certain, as confirmed by Microsoft's chief product officer Panos Panay, is that Windows 12 will be "cloud-powered and AI-driven."

Update for Windows 11

Amidst all this speculation around the upcoming Windows 12, one needs to note that Microsoft hasn't finished updating Windows 11.

Windows 11 was launched in October 2021 for general use so one can expect changes in upcoming Windows 11 updates, which is likely to reflect in Windows 12 as well. Certain legacy features will also likely be discontinued in upcoming updates.