Windows 12: possible requirements, price, release date and everything we know
October 22, 2023
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The successor to Windows 11 is called Windows 12, at least according to the latest leaks that have surfaced so far, which, frankly, are quite believable. The truth
The successor to Windows 11 is called Windows 12, at least according to the latest leaks that have surfaced so far, which, frankly, are quite believable. The truth is that since we first started reading things about this new operating system, it has rained a lot and today, so many rumors have accumulated that you need to tidy up a bit to find out what we really know or think we know about Windows 12.
It is for this reason that I have decided to prepare this article, in which I have filtered a lot of information and rumors to share with you. only the most trusted ones and which therefore have real value. You have to remember that Microsoft itself also dropped some things about Windows 12 and that these were taken into account when they gave more or less credence to rumors and leaks.
On the other hand, it’s also important to keep in mind before you start Windows 12 will not be the end of Windows 11, In fact, it won’t even mark the end of the life cycle of Windows 10. Everything seems to indicate that Microsoft will launch its new operating system at a time when it will have to coexist with the two, so something, at first glance, it may seem like a bad idea, but as we will see later in this article, makes sense.
Windows 12 will be a great bet on AI
Numerous rumors and information point in this direction, but also the very moves Microsoft made with Copilot. There are still many question marks in the air on this topic, but it can be assumed that artificial intelligence will play a fundamental role in Windows 12 and that thanks to it the operating system will offer significant improvements compared to Windows 11, from which we can highlight a few interesting examples:
Advanced and intelligent resource management available and assigning them to specific tasks.
Better performance with this intelligent distribution resources and workload in real time.
Intelligent protection and security in Microsoft Defenderwhich could spell the end of third-party security solutions, at least in the mainstream consumer market, and make Windows 12 the most secure consumer operating system in the world.
Smart shutdown of applications and background processes which have been open and unused for a long time.
Artificial intelligence could improve problem solving Windows 12 and make it much more efficient.
Improved efficiency and reduced energy consumption thanks to advanced real-time performance management, something that would be especially useful on laptops.
Windows 12 requirements: price for AI
The implementation of artificial intelligence in Windows 12 could mean a real revolution in the world of operating systems, and as I told you in the previous section, it could make said operating system one of the most advanced, efficient and secure in the world. However, this will not be free, because yes important load at the requirements level.
Rumor has it that Microsoft might set up two levels of requirements in Windows 12very affordable basic system to accelerate the adoption of said operating system, which however will not allow the user to access advanced AI featuresand the next higher level of requirements that would allow access to these features.
The truth is, it makes sense and seems pretty plausible to me, so we can’t rule this information out. However, we must keep in mind that nothing is confirmed and that Microsoft is ultimately free to do what it sees fit in this regard. These AIs were also said to work You could offer them as a service, in which case they would run on your own serversso they wouldn’t need very powerful hardware locally.
Possible requirements for Windows 12
64-bit CPU based on AMD Zen+ (Ryzen 2000), Intel Coffee Lake (Core Gen8) architecture or higher.
8 GB of RAM.
DirectX 12 compatible graphics card.
64 GB storage capacity.
TPM 2.0 chip.
This seriously basic level which most of the leaks pointed to and would match the minimum necessary to run Windows 12 with at least acceptable performance. If this hypothetical division into two levels of requirements is met, it would be very likely that in order to access these advanced AI features locally, we would need a processor with hardware specialized for this type of workload, i.e. NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
AMD has already incorporated AI acceleration into its stock APUs Ryzen 7040, that is, those based on the Zen 4 architecture and configured with Radeon 780M and 760M GPUs based on RDNA 3. APUs based on Zen 3 and earlier do not offer this feature. In the case of Intel, they will be the first processors to integrate the NPU Meteor Lakeas we told you before.
Microsoft may enable AI acceleration in Windows 12 based on other types of AI specialized hardware, such as the tensor cores of the GeForce RTX 20 series and higher graphics cards, the AI cores of the Radeon RX 7000, and the XMX matrices used by Intel Arc Alchemist graphics cards.
I don’t want to close this section without reminding you that Windows 12 will retain the interface and design language of Windows 11 it will retain the interface and design language of Windows 11at least on a general level, and it will adopt a new model centered around what is known as PC core improve performance and make it a more versatile, flexible and better optimized operating system.
This means that Windows 12 will have an immutable solid core common to all its versions, this Core PC, and that you can Add different layers of customization and features to increase your performance level, but at the same time they will also make it more demanding on the hardware level. This will make it easier to customize and configure it to work easily on a large number of devices.
Windows 12 price: more expensive but with free updates from Windows 11?
Due to the great news that Windows 12 will incorporate, most prominently the commitment to artificial intelligence, there has been speculation of a significant price increase over Windows 11. We also have nothing confirmed, but we could place it between 150 and 199 euros without fear of mistakes.
It’s clear that such a high price is a deterrent for many users, despite all the value that Windows 12 could create with artificial intelligence. This would not be good for Microsoft, as it would significantly slow down the pace of its new operating system rollout and could make Windows 10 or Windows 11 new. “Windows XP cases”.
To avoid this, Microsoft would have two important tricks up its sleeve, and that would be free updates. I said two aces because this strategy can be offered in two ways, limiting free upgrades to Windows 12 from Windows 11 or extending to Windows 10 users as well.
Looking at the adoption rate of Windows 11 right now and Windows 10, I think it’s pretty clear that the ideal thing to accelerate the adoption of Windows 12 would be to offer free updates from both operating systems. The latter makes the most sense if we compare it to the strategy adopted by Microsoft, since until relatively recently it continued to allow users upgrade to Windows 11 for free with Windows 8 and Windows 7 keys.
It’s also possible that Microsoft decided to “live on the edge” and decided not to offer any option to upgrade to Windows 12 for free, but frankly it seems to me that It would almost be like “shooting yourself in the foot”. if they really want Windwos 12 to have a really fast adoption rate.
Windows 12 with monthly installments, would that make sense?
Recently, there was a leak that Windows 12 could become the first operating system based on monthly installment model. I know that it may seem quite strange a priori, but the truth is that it could make sense in two different approaches that I will explain to you now, because it is quite an interesting topic that deserves its own space in this article.
The first would be for Microsoft to limit access to major updates that introduce key new features and improvements under this monthly fee model. With this approach, users who do not pay these monthly fees could only rejoice basic Windows 12 limited to security updatesbug fixes and minor improvements.
If they pay those monthly fees will receive updates that introduce new features and great improvements which will ultimately keep Windows 12 much fresher and offer a better user experience. In order to understand each other better, it would basically be like offering the current model of annual updates under a paywall, although of course it should adopt shorter release cycles to make it profitable.
The second one would relate to what I told you about the AI in Windows 12 and the need to have specialized hardware to take advantage of it. Microsoft could transfer this load to your servers and allow even those computers that don’t have dedicated AI hardware to use these features without any performance issues, all in exchange for a monthly fee. If we stop paying this monthly fee at any time, Windows 12 will continue to work, but we will lose access to exclusive AI-based features.
Possible release date of Windows 12
Companies like Intel and Microsoft have said on more than one occasion that Windwos 12 will hit the market. sometime in 2024, probably at the end of that year. This means that right now we would be only a year away from the launch of said operating system and that when it hits the market it will have to coexist with Windows 10 and Windows 11.
This date perfectly corresponds to the wave of new products as AI boom expected in mainstream consumer market by 2024, but since it’s not officially confirmed by Microsoft, we can’t give it absolute validity, so keep that in mind. Personally, I have already told you my opinion, I am inclined to believe that this new operating system will come to the market between October and November 2024.
We always run the risk of delays with these types of important releases, but given how important AI will be in the general consumer PC sector, I’m confident that Microsoft will take the steps it deems necessary to to ensure that Windows 12 arrives at the right time.
Donald Salinas is an experienced automobile journalist and writer for Div Bracket. He brings his readers the latest news and developments from the world of automobiles, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the latest trends and innovations in the automotive industry.