Skip to main content

Possible Windows 12 hardware system requirements revealed

After the debacle over the controversial Windows 11 system requirements, the question of how they would change in future versions remains a point of interest.

And now, some of the first details about Windows 12’s system requirements are beginning to surface despite its prospective launch still being some time away.

Microsoft

According to the German publication Deskmodder, Microsoft has been working on the future operating system version since February 2022 and is referring to the software internally as “Next Valley.” Though the final version is not expected to roll out to the general public until the second half of 2024, there has already been enough progress on the software to draft a decent list of specifications and minimum requirements for installation.

There is word that Microsoft plans to make Windows 12 compatible with Intel’s 14th Gen Meteor Lake-S desktop processors out of the box, suggesting that devices with such CPUs might be the first to run Next Valley. However, there have been few details about Meteor Lake-S circulating, particularly not any connecting the component to Windows 12, according to Neowin.

Deskmodder also claims that Windows 12 might support the Pluton coprocessor, which was first introduced on the Ryzen 6000 mobile CPUs in January 2022.

As for protection, Windows 12 will likely use the same TPM 2.0 Trusted Platform Module for its security crypto-processor that was seen on Windows 11, despite Microsoft testing out SHA-3 (Secure Hash Algorithm 3) support in a recent Insider Build.

Other hardware specs potentially include 8GB RAM, which would be an upgrade for Windows 12 at twice the capacity as for Windows 11.

There is no word on whether there would be a boost in minimum storage requirements. Currently, the minimum disk space needed to install Windows 11 is 64GB. However, Neowin noted that Microsoft could nix hard disk drives (HDD) in favor of solid-state hard drives (SSD) for software installation. This was a Windows 11 rumor that didn’t come to pass, but perhaps it could be a feature of Windows 12.

Overall, Windows 12 is expected to be “cloud-powered and AI-driven,” according to Microsoft’s chief product officer Panos Panay.

The company is still not finished updating Windows 11, which has been available to the general public since October 2021. The current OS will also be inundated with some of the features that will eventually make it to Next Valley. Users can also expect the retirement of such legacy features as MSDT and VBScript, which have been prone to exploitation.

Editors' Recommendations

Fionna Agomuoh
Fionna Agomuoh is a technology journalist with over a decade of experience writing about various consumer electronics topics…
The best Windows 11 themes
One of the wallpapers from the Windows 11 sunset theme.

If you've just upgraded to the latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows 11, you're probably ready to dive in and customize its appearance. One easy way to customize Windows 11 is by adding a theme. And if you're in need of some Windows 11 theme inspiration, have a look at our list of the best Windows 11 themes.

Below, you will find some of our current favorite themes for the Windows 11 OS and why we enjoy them.
Explore native Windows 11 themes first

Read more
Intel may have accidentally leaked the release date for Windows 12
Someone typing on the Surface Laptop Studio 2's touchscreen.

Did we just get a confirmation about the release time frame for Windows 12 -- and from Intel, of all sources? It seems that way. Intel spoke about its predictions for 2024, indicating that it expects 2024 to be a good year for client processors. That's huge for Intel because the next generation of its top processors, Meteor Lake, is set to come out in 2024. However, if Intel is right, it might be a big year for Microsoft, too.

The information comes from a transcript of the Citi 2023 Global Technology Conference. Most of it wasn't too exciting -- fireside chats aren't often that interesting to the masses -- but there's a little comment in there that piqued our interest.

Read more
Windows 11 adoption is slowing, and we finally know why
Surface Laptop Studio 2 sitting on a table.

In the consumer space, Windows 11 adoption has been ticking along at a reasonable pace. For businesses, however, the OS may have reached its limit, as businesses struggle to upgrade machines to meet the minimum requirements.

IT asset management group Lansweeper has observed that the adoption of Windows 11 now stands at 8.35% as of October 2023, a slight jump from the 5.74% seen in September 2022. However, having conducted research on approximately 33 million Windows devices in the enterprise sector, Lansweeper has concluded that it is largely device incompatibility that is stalling Windows 11 updates on a grand scale.

Read more