Device compatibility with Windows 11 has caused a lot of controversy. Why did this happen? Is Microsoft doing the right thing? The answers are in this article.
Ever since Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 11, the talk about it hasn’t subsided online. And no wonder – after all, this is a big event that will affect how soon all mankind will use the computer – whether they like it or not.
Sometimes experts and ordinary users just stop understanding from the word “at all.” “Bad Microsoft releases a worthless Windows that runs slow,” they scream every time a new desktop operating system is released. But when a brand-new Windows 11 comes out that can run faster, and it does run faster, it’s bad, too, because you hear, “Why won’t my PC get an update?” It’s really a paradox. We’re asking for a fast OS to be released, and we’re not ready to run it ourselves.
Yes, the new Windows 11 is not yet a perfect operating system. It has a lot of nuances and inconsistencies, but it’s only a test version, so we should expect it to be polished and improved. Someone will smile sweetly and think that I’m a dreamer and wishful thinking. But I’ll tell you the truth: for the first time in so many years, Microsoft has managed to release an OS that works fine from day one, even in the insider version.
At the same time, I look at how others are reacting to Windows 11 and I have to admit that I see something of a paradox here. And that means that whatever decision Microsoft makes about it will be bad for the company’s image. Let’s try to figure it all out.
Two sides of Windows 11 compatibility
I agree that Windows 11 is a pretty specific OS in terms of requirements. The fact is that while it is largely based on Windows 10, unlike the 2015 system, which could run even on a toaster, “eleven” has very specific requirements. First of all, we’re talking about having a proper processor and motherboard, which are a necessary requirement to be able to install this system at all. You can look at the rather contradictory list of compatible Intel and AMD processors. It shows that the system requirements may not be high (even 4 GB of RAM is the absolute minimum today), but regarding processors, Microsoft has narrowed down the machines that will get the upgrade. So in the case of Intel, only the 8th generation and above processors are compatible (that is, those released 4 years ago), and some series, such as Intel M, are completely forgotten. This leaves a lot of computers without support. Such a move, of course, pissed off most users. They really don’t understand how this happened, why this particular decision was made by Microsoft developers.
I am sure that when releasing the new operating system, Microsoft was certainly aware that it would cause some controversy, or perhaps not even a little controversy, but the minimum requirements should be “some”. They have to be just that, to be sure that the system will run without any problems on a particular configuration. In this case, cutting off weak and older models of processors can help secure the system against some archaic code responsible for supporting them, and ensure that Windows 11 runs properly on those machines.
I remember what was going on in 2015 when Windows 10 was launched. It was a total nightmare for the company’s developers. Instead of developing and improving the OS, they were busy fixing bugs on users’ old devices. There was always something wrong with someone’s device. For example, someone was hampered by telemetry and so turn it off, I want it that way, I pressed something wrong and it all fell apart, then I read that it was necessary to change something in the registry and everything would work, but it threw a BSOD. There were thousands, millions of such nuances, it seemed that this horror would never end. Not to mention the clumsiness of the developers themselves, who sometimes did not understand what to do and how to fix it. Yes, over nearly 6 years, things have more or less calmed down, users have bought new devices, and those who have older PCs have learned how to work on them in Windows 10. But here you go, grandma, the new Windows 11 and it all starts all over again. But now a smart move from Microsoft.
So is Windows 11 compatibility good or bad?
However, from what you can read online, people’s (at least some) approach to this topic is very different. Many people wonder that if Windows 10 “works” on a given computer, then why can’t Windows 11 work in peace. Unfortunately, this approach loses the point of releasing the operating system itself.
I have a ten-year-old ASUS N53SV laptop with 8GB of RAM and a 2nd generation Intel i7 mobile processor that has helped me participate in the Windows Insider Program for years. It’s been doing just fine, rarely letting me down. Will it run Windows 10? Yes. Will Windows 11 work? Probably. Will it run smoothly and quickly? That’s where I have my doubts. Although I have worked with this laptop for many years (and it will probably continue to serve me as a media center for the next few years), it would be wrong to think that its capabilities will be sufficient for proper operation in the future. Not all processors can withstand such a long period of upgrades. Already for the last six months I felt that sometimes my faithful companion began to warm up, sometimes it takes a certain amount of time to open a page or file. The old processor, the old fifth-generation GeForce GT 540M graphics gas pedal, it’s all screaming that it needs a rest already. Although it will still run on Windows 10, whose support won’t end until 2025.
So, here is where a kind of paradox arises – on the one hand, there are people who complain that Windows is slow and wrong. Microsoft has responded quite adequately to those complaints, “You have the new Windows 11, which we’ve improved. You need the right hardware to make the OS work properly.” A 4 year old processor is not too short (with the potential of 5, as Microsoft is testing compatibility with the 7th generation) for hardware. You have to remember that this hardware will have to use whatever Microsoft prepares for Windows 11 for at least another 6 years. On the other hand, however, there are people (rather odd, I think) who complain after the compatibility announcement that Windows 11 doesn’t work on their computer, and who try to install it anyway. In doing so, they read all sorts of nonsense on the Internet, and start changing the registry, changing settings in the BIOS (oh, and trouble awaits you someday). Yes, you can probably even run Windows 11 on a Celeron processor and 1 GB of RAM, but the question is – will it be a good experience? That is, if Microsoft has changed its approach, it will still be bad for someone. What it has done is the best answer to the current criticism from those who have been most dissatisfied. The company isn’t used to it, though. It is constantly under pressure and criticism.
The only question that remains rhetorical is why we don’t make similar claims when we buy a smartphone or tablet. Even Apple hasn’t supported its iPhone for over 5 years. I’ll say even more to critics in response. It makes no sense to be offended that Microsoft hasn’t released a new Windows for your five year old computer. What to say then about Apple, which removed most of the interesting features of the new macOS for computers released just a year earlier. I’m talking about the 2020 MacBooks, which run on Intel processors. The company decided that only laptops with their own processor would have interesting features such as portrait mode (background blur) in Facetime, instant copy/paste and translate text from photos, 3D objects on Apple Maps, interactive globe on Apple Maps, text-to-speech feature for newly added languages, dictation without an internet connection, continuous dictation feature. For some reason, no one made a fuss about it.
I think Microsoft has done the right thing – by 2025 the 6th generation processors will be 9 years old and they will gradually leave the market with Windows 10. They will already be old devices like my ASUS N53SV. So if someone wants to buy a cheap laptop with this processor – autumn will be a good time for such a purchase.
What does the future hold for Windows 11? If we take into account the first two test versions, the OS is very interesting. Yes, there has not been a revolution, it is more of an evolution. Perhaps it is better that way. The operating system should be understandable, convenient, fast, not paradoxical.