There’s considerable chatter sprinkled with a generous dose of skepticism that Windows 11 may not run on all desktops and laptops that already have Windows 10 installed. It stems from the minimum requirements that Microsoft shared for systems that can run Windows 11, and the specific focus on something called TPM 2.0, or Trusted Platform Module, which we have tried to explain here in detail. Simultaneously, the PC Health Check app has also indicated false negatives on many PCs, suggesting incompatibility with Windows 11. Microsoft has acknowledged issues, is pulling the under-prepared PC Health Check app, and has promised to reconsider the minimum system requirements needed for PCs, to be able to run Windows 11 when it rolls out later this year. Windows 11 is the biggest update the OS has received, in years, and the first test build has now rolled out for developers. There is confirmation that the PC Health Check app is indeed being taken off for the time being, and the tech giant says some work needs to be done before it can reach the intended level of detail or accuracy that users would expect. “Based on the feedback so far, we acknowledge that it was not fully prepared to share the level of detail or accuracy you expected from us on why a Windows 10 PC doesn’t meet upgrade requirements,” says Microsoft, in an official post. They confirm that this is a temporary removal of this app and it’ll be available again before Windows 11 releases later this year. “We are temporarily removing the app so that our teams can address the feedback. We will get it back online in preparation for general availability this fall,” they say. The requirement for a security hardware chip on PCs for Windows 11 to install and run successfully, has meant that PCs that still run the 7th generation Intel Core processors or indeed the AMD Zen 1 chips may be kept out. That is because they do not have TPM 2.0 enabled. This means that assuming Windows 11 will run on all PCs that already have Windows 10 installed and running successfully, would be fallacious. A reconsideration may very well be underway. “As we release to Windows Insiders and partner with our OEMs, we will test to identify devices running on Intel 7th generation and AMD Zen 1 that may meet our principles,” says Microsoft. The minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11 PCs to be able to run the new OS, albeit after sacrificing some functionality in case you’re just meeting the baseline, including a 1GHz processor, at least 4GB RAM, and at least 64GB storage. The system firmware needs to be UEFI and Secure Boot capable, while the graphics card, whether integrated or discreet, needs to be compatible with DirectX 12 or later. Computing devices with screen sizes smaller than 9-inches and resolutions less than 720p will not be compatible with Windows 11. These are the larger system requirements that need to be ticked off. There are further feature-specific requirements, that will dictate whether you can run certain Windows 11 functionality or not. For instance, 5G connectivity will require a built-in 5G modem, something we have seen off late with laptops that have built-in SIM slots for LTE connectivity. For Auto HDR for videos and gaming, the display will need to be HDR capable. The Snap three-column layouts for multi-tasking require a display with at least 1920 pixels in width. The Presence functionality will ask for a sensor that can detect human distance from the device or intent to interact with the device while Microsoft Teams calls will need a video camera, microphone, and speaker for audio output. Stay on top of this reconsideration by visiting OUR FORUM often.

The HDMI standards are a mess. HDMI 2.1, in particular, is a uniquely frustrating mess, with haphazard support among TV manufacturers, cable makers, and devices that make setting up, say 120Hz gaming on a PS5 or Xbox Series X a uniquely harrowing experience. Fortunately, the HDMI Forum is swooping in ahead of CES with its latest revision to the HDMI specification stack, HDMI 2.1a, which is here to make everything better and simpler.... I’m kidding, of course. It’s gonna make things more complicated. It’s a new HDMI standard, what on earth did you expect? Let’s start with the good: HDMI 2.1a is an upcoming revision to the HDMI 2.1 stack and adds a major new feature, Source-Based Tone Mapping, or SBTM. SBTM is a new HDR feature that offloads some of the HDR tone mappings to the content source (like your computer or set-top box) alongside the tone mapping that your TV or monitor is doing. SBTM isn’t a new HDR standard — it’s not here to replace HDR10 or Dolby Vision. Instead, it’s intended to help existing HDR setups work better by letting the content source better optimize the content it passes to the display or by removing the need to have the user manually calibrate their screens for HDR by having the source device configure content for the specific display. Other use cases could be for when there’s a mix of content types, like for streamers (who could have an HDR game playing alongside a window of black and white text), displaying each area of content. The HDMI Forum does note that it’ll be possible for set-top boxes, gaming companies, and TV manufacturers to add support through firmware updates for HDMI 2.1a and its source-based tone mapping “depending upon their design.” Given the usual trajectory of TV spec updates, though, it seems virtually guaranteed that in the majority of cases, users won’t be getting the new features until they buy a new TV that supports HDMI 2.1a right out of the box (which, as of now, is precisely zero of them, given that the spec has yet to be fully released). Now here’s the bad: like every other unique HDMI 2.1 feature, including variable refresh rates, automatic low latency connections, and the bandwidth necessary to offer things like 10K resolution or 120Hz refresh rates, SBTM will be an optional feature that manufacturers can support — but not something that they’re required to support. That’s because the HDMI Forum and HDMI Licensing Administrator (the two organizations that define and license out HDMI standards, respectively) run the standards as a set that contains all the previous standards. As TFTCentral explains, according to the HDMI Licensing Administrator, now that HDMI 2.1 exists, there is no HDMI 2.0 standard anymore: all new HDMI 2.0 ports should be lumped into the HDMI 2.1 branding, despite not using any of the new features included in the “new” 2.1 standards. Follow all CES 2022 threads on OUR FORUM.