A common question that popped up with the strict new Windows 11 requirements is how existing Mac's will be supported, and more importantly Intel Mac's - the majority of existing Mac architectures.
Once Windows 11 becomes available in October, the update will require a 64-bit 1GHz or faster processor, at minimum of 4GB RAM, at least 64GB of storage, a DirectX 12 compatible graphics card, and support for TPM 2.0.
Read also: What are TPM chips, and why is Windows 11 enforcing them?
Mark Hughes
Here's the catch though, Mac hasn't used TPM chips since 2006, and hasn't supported it ever on an Intel Mac. This might seem a bit odd for it's security enhancements around TPM chips. However, Mac's are fitter with a custom security chip - currently know as the Apple T2 chip. The Apple T2 chip is complex and uses secure enclave processor. This prevents a few known vulnerabilities known with TPM chips.
Alternatively, Apple could update the firmware of its Intel machines to enable support for the protocol used by TPM, but this seems extremely unlikely since Apple is now discontinuing Intel Macs, and the current M1 Macs are not compatible with any version of Windows.
This doesn't rule our virtual machines. If you use a virtualiser like Parallels, you will be able to run your Windows 11 operating system inside a virtualised environment, however, bootcamp is out of the question.
Windows 11 will become available as a free update in October. If you're interested in trying out the new OS now, you can join the Windows Insider beta program.
