According to a source, Microsoft plans to make it essential for PC manufacturers to transition from hard disk drives (HDDs) to solid state drives (SSDs) for Windows 11 PCs in 2023.
The alleged plan by the software behemoth is expected to raise PC pricing since manufacturers would have to spend more money on SSDs to replace traditional spinning hard drives.
The switch, on the other hand, might be able to help users gain better performance. SSDs for booting and HDDs for bulk storage are now standard on a large proportion of Windows laptops.
According to Tom’s Hardware, Microsoft is pressuring PC manufacturers to use SSDs instead of HDDs as the main memory for Windows 11 PCs, citing an executive memo from data storage industry analysis firm Trendfocus.
The specific date of the change has yet to be announced. However, according to Trendfocus analyst John Chen, Microsoft had planned to make it a requirement this year, but it had been moved back to sometime in the second half of next year.
Manufacturers are reportedly in talks with Microsoft about the move, although Chen stated that “things are still in flux.”
It’s worth noting that the current list of Windows 11 hardware requirements does not clearly state that an SSD is required to install the operating system.
It specifies that 64GB of storage is required to install the most recent Windows version. Users will require an SSD to get DirectStorage and the Windows Subsystem for Android, according to Microsoft.
All of the major PC manufacturers, including HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Acer, offer a huge number of Windows laptops with SSD boot drives, as well as HDD storage for normal data.
However, there are also inexpensive variants with HDDs as the only storage choice. Some models also use eMMC storage to assist manufacturers sell low-cost choices.
Switching to SSDs over HDDs incurs additional costs, which PC manufacturers are likely to pass on to users in the form of higher laptop prices.
In today’s market, a 1TB HDD costs around the same as a standard 256GB SSD. This means that if a PC manufacturer needs to upgrade its laptop from an HDD to an SSD, users would lose storage space. Alternatively, the cost of manufacturing that specific laptop model should be increased to match the storage space of its HDD variant.
Although SSDs are more expensive than HDDs, their operational costs are lower in the long term since the former uses less power and cooling. In comparison to a standard rotational drive, it also helps give faster read/write rates.
Microsoft’s main competitor Apple’s MacBook and Mac PCs have all been equipped with SSDs for several years.
According to Ars Technica, even if PC makers are prohibited from selling computers with spinning drives, the stated restriction is unlikely to prevent customers from installing Windows 11 on PCs and laptops with HDDs at first.
However, it is uncertain whether Microsoft would make SSDs obligatory for all laptops or only a subset of them. It’s also unclear whether the move will be limited to a few markets at first or will be implemented globally.
When Gadgets 360 contacted Microsoft for comment on the development, a spokeswoman claimed the company had “nothing additional” to add to Tom’s Hardware’s statement. However, the corporation “had nothing to communicate on this matter at this moment,” according to that reply.
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