It looks like Microsoft actually let the Windows 8 tablet hardware requirements hit the public last month but I must have missed it, so let’s take a look at the minimum we’ll see from upcoming Windows 8 tablets.
First of all, I think we’re going to see a lot of these things. We were just at CES 2012 and the glut of Android tablets was a bit less than last year, as many major device makers were waiting for the Windows 8 software to come out. Sure, it’s not going to be free like Android but Windows 8 has the ability to be instantly appealing to mainstream consumers because it’s Windows – love it or hate it, people know what Windows is. Now that it will be compatible with ARM chips, we can expect a variety of tablets to hit the market.
According to WithinWindows, these Windows 8 tablets will all have to have a 5-point digitizer for input, NFC “touch marks,” five hardware buttons (Power, Rotation lock, Windows Key, Volume up, Volume down), a button combo for the CTRL+ALT+DEL command, 2 second resume (for Intel chips) and no reboot driver upgrades. We can also expect:
- Storage: At least 10gb free space after the out-of-box experience completes
- System firmware: UEFI
- Networking: WLAN and Bluetooth 4.0 + LE (low energy)
- Graphics: Direct3D 10 device w/ WDDM 1.2 driver
- Resolution: 1366×768
- Touch support: At least 5 touch points, must pass all tests
- Camera: 720p
- Ambient Light Sensor: 1-30k lux capable w/ dynamic range of 5-60K
- Magnetometer
- Accelerometer: 3 axes w/ data rates >= 50Hz
- Gyroscope
- USB 2.0: At least one controller and exposed port
- Speakers
Microsoft is taking a similar approach to its Windows Phone by laying out the hardware requirements for tablets but if you’re looking to use Windows 8 on a desktop, you should be fine on any setup that can use Windows 7. These sound like decent tablet specs, what do you think?
[Via Engadget, WithinWindows]