Windows 11 24H2 will have watermark on PCs without AI support, leak points out
Windows 11 24H2 promises to bring several artificial intelligence features. However, Microsoft may include a surprise on computers without support for the new AI tools: a watermark to warn that the device does not meet the minimum requirements. This is what a leak made by X user (former Twitter) Albacore suggests this week.
Watermark in Windows 11
The discovery came from a code analysis of Windows 11 build 26200, which is still in development and limited to developers and enthusiasts. When analyzing the internal files, the informant found traces that there will be a warning on PCs without support for the File Explorer AI tools (“AI Explorer”, in English).
“By looking at the bits present in internal version 26200, AI Explorer does indeed check these requirements, and if they are not met, a warning will be present in its overlays,” he explained in a post on X. “You can completely bypass the check by disabling ID 48486440. This only disables the AIX that does the checking, not the API.”
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Regarding requirements, Albacore mentions another publication, which indicates that AI Explorer requires a compatible processor and at least 16 GB of RAM to function. Total storage of at least 225 GB would be another necessity.
Despite the discovery, it is unclear whether this warning is an alert exclusive to experimental versions or whether Microsoft will, in fact, take it forward. There is also no information about when the watermark would be activated or whether it would be permanent.
Microsoft has also not commented on the minimum requirements notice nor has it revealed the list of requirements to run the tools so far — so everything can be changed by then. The update to version 24H2 is expected to begin being distributed to the general public this year.
Restriction on old processors
Windows 11, unlike previous generations, has a controversial list of requirements, as it prevents many old PCs from being updated. Even so, Microsoft tends to further increase the minimum requirements to run the operating system.
In February, developer Bob Pony noted that version 24H2 would not support very old processors, which do not have the POPCNT instruction. Even though chips without this technology do not officially support the successor to Windows 10, many force the update if the PC is still in good working order.
This week, Bob Pony also reported that Windows 11 24H2 will have another restriction: processors without the SSE4.2 architecture. However, again, the lack of technology only affects old components, as the technology has existed for almost two decades.
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