While Microsoft is insisting a TPM 2.0 chip is a baseline requirement for Windows 11, it turns out there is actually a lot of flexibility available to OEMs.
Tom’s Hardware had a look at Microsoft’s 16 page ‘Windows 11 Minimum Hardware Requirements document (PDF), and it notes:
It states Microsoft will allow “OEMs for special purpose commercial systems, custom order, and customer systems with a custom image” to ship systems without TPM support enabled.
It is notable that some countries such as China and Russia do not allow any systems to ship with TPM at all, and the line makes it clear that TPM on Windows 11 is more a choice Microsoft is making than a necessity without which the OS will be unable to exist.
While we understand Microsoft’s motivation to make a new start, the decision will likely result in a lot of wasted hardware and time as users abandon hardware that is working perfectly well, a poor decision for a supposedly environmentally friendly company.
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