Live tiles/IE browser are gone, Microsoft Win11 feature specific requirements, deprecated and removed feature list announced

Tonight, Microsoft held a launch event for the next generation of Windows, officially announcing the name as Windows 11.

Microsoft today announced the basic requirements for installing Windows 11 on your PC. If your device is already running Windows 10, you can use the PC Health Checker app to assess compatibility.

Requires 1 GHz or faster 64-bit capable processor (dual-core or multi-core) or system-on-a-chip (SoC); 4 GB of memory; 64 GB of storage or greater; support for UEFI Secure Boot; Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0; support for DirectX 12 or higher, WDDM 2.0 driver support; HD (720p) greater than 9 inches diagonally Display with 8 bits per color channel.

Microsoft also announced feature-specific requirements for Windows 11, as well as feature deprecations and removals.

Windows 11 feature-specific requirements

Some features in Windows 11 have additional requirements beyond the minimum requirements listed above. Here are additional requirements for some key features:

5G support Requires a 5G-capable modem.

Auto HDR requires an HDR monitor.

BitLocker to Go requires a USB flash drive (only available in Windows Professional and later).

Client Hyper-V requires a processor that supports Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) (available only in Windows Professional and later).

Cortana requires a microphone and speakers and is currently available in Windows 11 in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, UK, and the US. DirectStorage requires a 1 TB or larger NVMe SSD to store and run games using the "Standard NVM Express Controller" driver and a DirectX 12 Ultimate GPU.

DirectX 12 Ultimate requires a supported game and graphics chip.

Status Requires sensors that can detect distance between a person and the device or sensors used to interact with the device.

Smart video conferencing requires a video camera, microphone and speakers (audio output).

Multi-voice assistant (MVA) requires a microphone and speakers.

Snapped three-column layout requires a screen with 1920 effective pixels in width or more.

Mute/unmute from taskbar Requires video camera, microphone and speakers (audio output). Apps must support enabling global mute/unmute functionality.

Spatial sound effects require supporting hardware and software.

Teams requires a video camera, microphone, and speakers (audio output).

Touch Requires a screen or monitor that supports multi-touch.

Two-factor authentication requires a PIN, biometrics (fingerprint reader or fill-lit infrared camera), or a phone with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth capabilities.

Voice input requires a computer with a microphone.

Voice wake-up requires modern standby power mode and microphone.

Wi-Fi 6E requires new WLAN IHV hardware and drivers and a Wi-Fi 6E capable AP/router.

Windows Hello requires a near-infrared (IR) imaging camera or fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Devices without biometric sensors can use a Windows Hello PIN or a Microsoft-compatible portable security key. Windows Projection requires a display adapter that supports Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 2.0 and a Wi-Fi adapter that supports Wi-Fi Direct.

Xbox (App) Requires Xbox Live account (not available in all regions).

Feature deprecation and removal

When you upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11 or when you install updates to Windows 11, some features may be deprecated or removed. Please review the information below about some of the key features affected:

Cortana will no longer be included in the first launch experience or pinned to the taskbar.

Desktop wallpapers cannot roam to or from the device when signed in with a Microsoft account.

Internet Explorer will no longer be used. Microsoft Edge becomes the recommended alternative, which contains IE mode, which may work in some situations.

The math input panel has been removed. Math recognizers will be installed as needed, including math input controls and recognizers. Math inking in apps such as OneNote is not affected by this change.

News and interests are removed from the taskbar. Widgets will provide alternative functionality.

Quick status and related settings on the lock screen have been removed

S Mode is now only available on Windows 11 Home.

Skype MeetNow is replaced by Chat.

The Snipping Tool continues to work, but the old design and functionality in the Windows 10 version are replaced by those in the app previously called Snip & Sketch.

The Start menu is getting major changes in Windows 11, including deprecation and removal of the following major features:

Named groups and app folders are no longer supported, and layout resizing has been removed.

When you upgrade from Windows 10, pinned apps and websites won't migrate with you.

Live Tiles will no longer be available. For a quick preview of dynamic content, check out the new widget feature.

Tablet mode has been removed, and new functionality will be reflected in the connected and detached states of the keyboard.

Taskbar functionality includes the following changes:

"People" no longer exists in the taskbar.

Some icons may no longer appear in the device's system tray after an upgrade, including previously customized content.

The taskbar position only allows alignment to the bottom of the screen.

Apps can no longer customize the taskbar area.

Timeline removed. Some similar functionality is available in Microsoft Edge.

Touch keyboards will no longer have options for fixed and mobile keyboard layouts on screens 18 inches or larger.

Wallet removed.

The following apps are not removed after upgrading, but will no longer be installed on new devices or when doing a clean install of Windows 11. These apps can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store or from this site:

3D Viewer

OneNote for Windows 10

Draw 3D

Skype