After recent revelations about new hardware prerequisites for the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 update, Microsoft appears poised to introduce a slew of innovative AI functionalities. A fresh report now indicates that the tech giant is integrating new code into the operating system to notify users if their systems fail to meet the minimum requirements for running AI-driven applications.
According to Albacore on X (formerly Twitter), devices that fall short of these requirements will display a watermark warning message. Upon scrutinizing the latest Windows 11 Insider Build 26200, Albacore uncovered coded prerequisites for an upcoming AI File Explorer feature. The stipulated minimum requirements include an ARM64 processor, 16GB of memory, 225GB of total storage, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite NPU.
Reportedly named Advanced Copilot, the new AI File Explorer is poised to offer functionalities reminiscent of a modernized Cortana – the same app that was retired in August last year. While the choice of CPU may seem peculiar, Neowin speculates that the feature could be exclusive to new Surface devices or that Microsoft may plan to extend support to other PCs in the future. Interestingly, there is a workaround to bypass this check by simply disabling ID 48486440 on the RTM build.
This new hardware compatibility update follows the recent discovery of prerequisites related to the POPCNT and SSE 4.2 instruction sets. In essence, CPUs equipped with support for these instruction sets will be essential for booting Windows 11. As previously noted, Windows 11’s hardware compatibility excludes older CPUs, meaning users with compatible hardware should remain unaffected.
It’s worth emphasizing that Microsoft has yet to issue an official statement regarding the minimum hardware requirements for the Windows 11 24H2 update. The company is currently in the process of testing new features, some of which may or may not make it to the final release.
