Microsoft caused waves with its strict Windows 11 requirements that forced a lot of presumed upgradable devices outside the window of advancing from Windows 10 to the company’s latest operating system. However, a new feature coming to an updated version of Windows 11 will leave even more computers behind this Fall.
Microsoft is rumored to deliver a new system wide search feature powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning called AI Explorer to Windows 11 users later this year. The company is presumably prepping the feature for a demo during its upcoming developer conference next month as new code strings for AI Explorer become visible in the latest Windows Insider build cited by Twitter user Albacore, aka @thebooisclosed.
Beyond being on devices that sport a minimum of 16GB of memory (still not a standard among PCs) and 225GB of total storage space (also not a standard among current PCs), Microsoft will also require that PCs be powered by ARM64 CPUs with no mentions of other supported processors such as AMD or Intel.
Fortunately for Snapdragon, Microsoft specifically listed its new X Elite NPU (HWID QCOM0D0A) processor as a supported chip to run AI Explorer.
Now, before the pitchforks and tar come out, Microsoft has yet to officially announce AI Explorer, let alone show off what makes it so special. Based on rumors, AI Explorer is supposed to give users access through natural language to an on-device historical timeline of data, events, and actions that occur on a PC to deliver an experience where users can reach into their computers to summon everything from chats to specific app data with ease.
As with most Microsoft first-attempt solutions, it may be a while before AI Explorer becomes a mainstream utility, and by that point, the higher system requirements of today may be a non-issue down the road as more Windows partners pump out ARM-powered PCs over the course of months and years.
