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Earlier this month, we reported on a couple of big changes Microsoft is bringing regarding Windows hardware testing. First, the tech giant deprecated Windows Device metadata and the Windows Metadata and Internet Services (WMIS) on the latest OS version of Windows 11. First, Microsoft also published an updated HLK or hardware lab kit release with many new validation tests related to Bluetooth LE Audio, among other improvements. LE Audio received official Windows requirements earlier this year in February. Under the Windows Hardware Compatibility Program (WHCP), HLK, as mentioned above, is used to test and validate various hardware and their corresponding drivers and software to ensure Windows compatibility so that all the features of such hardware will work as intended. Unfortunately, in this area, USB-C support has not been the greatest, and Microsoft knows it. As such, today, Microsoft has published a detailed blog post explaining why that is changing soon. The company has stated that it will try and enforce the various optional USB-C functionalities into mandatory ones so that users will not have to wonder and guess which of the USB-C features will work on their PC. Microsoft says that this applies to mobile (laptop and notebook) systems only, at least for the moment. This looks like a great initiative by Microsoft given that it is not often clearly defined which PC supports which of the features and thus with a mandatory baseline for the various USB-C functionalities, laptop makers and OEMs will be forced to make all such features available and make like easier for consumers. The company had earlier published a support article regarding "USB4 device functionality might be limited" problems that users face. As you can see in the image above, Microsoft has published a new set of requirements for Windows 11 USB4 and USB 3.0 devices to make the support for the following functions compulsory alongside their rated throughputs: USB4 15 watts or higher charging Dual 4K 60 Hz display support PCIe 3.0 Intel Thunderbolt 3 USB 3.0 4.5 to 15 watts charging 1x display support You can find the official blog post here on Microsoft's Tech Community website. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every day for many years. News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of May): 2,377 RIP Matrix | Farewell my friend

Back in May, Microsoft announced an upcoming change in the hardware system requirements for running its Edge web browser. At the time, Microsoft said that PCs would need to have a processor that supported the SSE3 instruction set and beyond to continue to support Edge. That change was supposed to become effective with the release of Edge 126, which was launched in its Stable Channel in mid-June. However. Microsoft has quietly announced that the hardware requirement change for Edge has been pushed slightly back. Petri reports that in a message sent on Microsoft's M365 Admin Center app, the company has delayed the end of Edge support for non-SSE3 PCs and lower to version 128. The message did not offer any explanation for the delay in this hardware requirement change for Edge. The message added: The M365 Admin Center message added that while Edge 128 will still work on PCs that don't have SSE3 support, they will no longer receive any feature or security updates. Microsoft does not recommend users keep running Edge 128 on those older PCs. Edge 127 is now available in the Dev Channel, and is currently expected to be released in the Stable channel sometime later this week. Edge 128 is available for Mac PC users to check out in the Dev Channel and should be available for Windows users in that same channel soon. Edge 128 is not expected to be released on the Stable channel until late August at the earliest. Even with this delay, this change will likely only affect a small percentage of PCs. The SSE3 instruction sent was launched for processors in 2004, which means Edge should soon not be supported on PCs that are 20 years old or older. Source Hope you enjoyed this news post. Thank you for appreciating my time and effort posting news every single day for many years. 2023: Over 5,800 news posts | 2024 (till end of June): 2,839 news posts