What if Windows 11’s strict requirements are actually the smart move?

Since Windows 11 was announced, one of the constant complaints against it has been the hardware requirements. And while they do preclude many otherwise capable PCs from running the latest OS, there’s another side to this issue worth considering.

What if Windows 11 having stricter requirements is the right move? Could there be more to this decision that sets up a better base for the future of Windows?

The specific requirement issues

Reviewing Windows 11’s minimum requirements, compared to Windows 10, is useful to begin this discussion:

The two that stick out are the TPM and system firmware requirements. People were upset about this because CPUs older than a few years (at the time of Windows 11’s release) were powerful enough, but didn’t meet the TPM requirement.

This was most pronounced for people who had bought or built a new PC in the years leading up to Windows 11’s 2021 announcement and release. It’s frustrating to hear that your PC won’t support the next version of Windows when you just built it a year or two ago.

Sometimes, there has to be a requirements leap

Otherwise, we should recall that Windows 7’s requirements (and Windows 8’s) were near-identical to Windows 10’s.

Because Windows 10 was offered as a free upgrade to Windows 7, you could conceivably have bought a PC in 2009 when Windows 7 launched, upgraded it to Windows 10 before Windows 7’s end of life in 2020, and used it through Windows 10’s end of support in 2025.

Windows 10 lets you upgrade to Windows 11 for free if your machine is supported. I understand not being able to take advantage of this offer is frustrating (my 2017 desktop couldn’t upgrade to Windows 11). But at some point, companies have to create a break in support.

Apple does the same with macOS. 2025’s macOS Tahoe works on computers going back to 2019. Apple supports the latest three releases of macOS; currently, macOS Sonoma is the oldest supported version and will reach its end of life in September 2026. At that point, 2018 and 2019 MacBook Air models will lose support.

One purchase granting up to 16 years of Windows support is more than reasonable, especially compared to Apple’s 7-8 years. If you haven’t gotten a new computer in that long, it’s time to regardless of Windows requirements.

But there are good reasons for those requirements, too.

Windows 11 systems are better protected

Requiring a TPM and Secure Boot means Windows 11 raises the baseline of security people expect from their systems. These features add more checks into the hardware to prevent security keys from being stolen or any tampering during the startup process.

The most practical effect is making Windows Hello more secure, which is of increasing importance. If you’re not familiar, Windows Hello is a Windows security feature that allows you to authenticate without your account password. You can log into your computer with a PIN (which is limited to your device) or physical security key. If you have compatible hardware, face or fingerprint authentication works too.

This isn’t solely an easier way to log into your PC. Windows Hello works as an authentication tool to unlock sensitive apps, like password managers. Crucially, it’s also how Windows authenticates passkeys, which are a stronger alternative to passwords. After saving passkeys on your device, you can log into online accounts using the same Windows Hello authentication method.

Windows 11’s security requirements don’t protect you from every attack. But as malware and online attacks grow in complexity, hardware security features need to keep up. By enforcing the standard, Microsoft can expect a reasonable level of protection for everyone running Windows 11.

Minimum requirements become more realistic

One of the biggest issues with Windows Vista was that its system requirements were handled terribly. Microsoft and hardware manufacturers fought on the minimum requirements for Vista; ultimately, they were lowered.

Vendors then sold old stock and other weak machines with the shiny new OS, resulting in shelves filled with computers that were “Designed for Windows XP; Windows Vista Capable”. ​​​​​​These machines technically could run Vista—even though it was often Home Basic, a watered-down version—but they never should have been approved to. The Vista experience was terrible on weak hardware.

Meanwhile, people upgraded low-end PCs, which should have stuck to Windows XP, to Vista and had a similarly bad time. Raising the minimum specs would have provided a better experience.

I’m sure Microsoft wanted to avoid this problem happening with Windows 11, which is another reason the minimum specs have been raised. The company wouldn’t want opinions of Windows 11 being dominated by talk of how poorly it ran on low-end machines. And after Windows 7, 8, and 10 having near-identical requirements, it was a reasonable time to raise the bar.

Windows 11 frees itself of some legacy ties

Treating Windows 11 as a new step allows Microsoft to shed legacy weight that weighs the OS down. Windows’ incredible backward compatibility is a strength (like with its decades-old apps that are still useful), but it can hurt the platform in other ways.

Supporting fewer machines means the company doesn’t have to spend as long making sure updates are compatible with every old machine someone might be using. That results in faster rollouts for the people using supported systems and reduces the chances of something breaking in an update.

Windows being bound to legacy devices means it isn’t as good as it could be for those on modern systems. I liken it to games being developed for two generations of consoles at the same time (like the PS5 and PS4). You can’t create a game from the ground up for PS5 when you have to work within the limitations of the weaker system.

Someone, somewhere will always need some legacy Windows feature. But by slowly cutting out ancient computers, Microsoft has more room to remove those legacy tools (which can sometimes pose security risks) and thus make Windows more modern.

The ideal won’t happen exactly that way

Now, in saying all this, I’m not arguing that Windows 11 is perfect or has 100% lived up to the above. Windows 11 has its own issues; I can’t stand the constant AI intrusions into the system, for one.

After more than 3.5 years of use, I’m still not convinced that Windows 11 is meaningfully better than Windows 10 in day-to-day use. While 11 seems great on paper, people haven’t taken to it like they did with Windows 7 or 10.

However, Windows 11 has laid the groundwork for future versions of Windows to realize all the benefits of the raised requirements. It could take time—perhaps even waiting for Windows 12—but this could prove to be the smart move for the health of Windows for years to come.