Microsoft has apparently just dealt the hard drive industry a major blow in the gums. According to a report leaked by Trendfocus, future Windows 11 PCs and laptops will require an SSD . Thus, several manufacturers would have claimed that Microsoft was pushing them to abandon hard drives as the primary storage device in assembled Windows 11 PCs and use SSDs instead. Microsoft would even give a deadline for the total switchover: as early as 2023!
However, if we take a look at Microsoft’s official requirements to install Windows 11, at no time is the presence of an SSD indicated as a necessary element. However, Microsoft states that two features, DirectStorage and the Windows Subsystem for Android, require an SSD, but you are not required to use these features.
However, let’s be objective. In terms of user comfort and performance, Microsoft’s insistence on the subject seems quite logical. All the more so since in the comments reported by Trenfocus, the need for an SSD for the boot disk is mentioned and not a total ban on HDDs. Despite the fact that SSD prices have been dropping for years, the storage capacity of a good PC (with a limited budget) generally requires the addition of an HDD for storage. Steam users in particular can attest to this necessity… For Trendfocus, the “massive” switch to SSDs on pre-built PCs will have implications for HDD demand next year. But the reality is that manufacturers building a PC with only an HDD are becoming increasingly rare.
