Microsoft Secretly Reduces CPU Requirement for Android Subsystem in Windows 11
Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the preview version 2307 of the Android subsystem for Windows 11, concurrently implementing a surreptitious modification to the technical documentation of the Android subsystem, wherein the section outlining the minimum CPU model under the CPU category was eliminated.
Originally, the minimum requirement stipulated at least the 8th generation Intel Core i3 processor, AMD Ryzen 3000 processor, or Qualcomm Snapdragon 8c processor. However, this clause was removed, leaving the new CPU requirement only concerning the architecture: x64 or Arm64.
Altering this constraint represents a peculiar approach since Microsoft’s requirement for the Android subsystem has always been that the PC must meet the hardware requirements of Windows 11. That is to say, only when the CPU, secure boot, and TPM 2.0 requirements are all met can the Android subsystem be installed.
Presently, the hardware requirements for Windows 11 remain the same, meaning older CPUs are unable to install Windows 11 directly due to not meeting the criteria. So, what is the purpose behind the Android subsystem unilaterally eliminating the CPU restriction?
Could it possibly be an attempt to attract users who have circumvented the Windows 11 hardware restrictions through alternative methods to directly install the Android subsystem? If so, why not just completely eliminate the Windows 11 hardware restrictions?
This situation reminds us of the issue with Bing Chat, where Microsoft hopes for users to make extensive use of Bing Chat, yet doesn’t want users to access it through Chrome or Safari. Therefore, various restrictions are encountered when accessing Bing Chat through Chrome, including a maximum of 5 questions per session and a maximum of 2000 characters per input.
The current situation with the Android subsystem appears to reflect a similar paradox. Microsoft wishes for users to extensively utilize the Android subsystem, yet is reluctant to lift the Windows 11 hardware restrictions, resulting in an undeniably contradictory scenario.
