The minimum specs for the webcam are probably the more relevant part. Even incredibly cheap laptops have a webcam, but it's sometimes a 15fps 480p one that isn't actually useful for anything.
I'm speculating but I'd put money on the fact that Microsoft is tired of OEMs/ODMs shipping the cheapest cut rate excuse for a laptop running their OS and making Microsoft look bad.
Ecaclty this. Microsoft is setting the standards that it expects its OS to run on. Might increase the average windows 11 laptop prices but at least will make sure people don't buy those crappy speced laptops that OEMs put out.
Queue all the conspiracy theories and people ignoring the fact that every MacBook ships with an HD camera.
Could it be that M$ (haven't used that in a while) is tired of manufacturers shipping garbage with Microsoft's latest OS installed?
I remember purchasing a brand new HP Tablet for under $100 that shipped with Microsoft's latest OS (8.1 I believe). I knew it was going to be bad, I was curious just how bad though. I wasn't prepared for HP to look at my incredibly low expectations and say "hold my beer".
When you purchase an Apple product, any Apple product, you know it's going to be at worst a middling experience.
It seems like Microsoft's requirements for Windows 11 are just holding manufacturers to higher expectations.
I haven't looked in a minute but 0.3MP (640x480) cameras were quite common just a few years ago on budget laptops. Often webcams can achieve higher FPS at lower resolutions, so specifying 720p @ 15FPS prevents them from shipping a 720p sensor that does say 15FPS but only at 320x240.
> Very likely part of a push for Windows Hello (Face ID)
Very certainly isn't. Windows Hello requires special hardware within the webcam for infrared depth mapping, which isn't common or standard. The linked document[0] doesn't require Windows Hello-supporting cameras now or later.
For the moment:
"However, this requirement will become mandatory starting with the 1st of January, 2023, a fact which will most likely force many of the manufacturers to also include a webcam in devices like laptops or tablets."
Anyway, I don't know of any laptop without a webcam, although often it's quite awful.
That's the cause of this requirement. MS is tired of marketing departments checking off boxes on their spec sheet by picking the cheapest part from the discount bin.
Just one more reason to not update to W11, on my work computer I run W10, but if I had to reinstall system Is probably opt for W7, this year reinstalled backup laptop to W8.1 but no reason to not go even lower.
I am aware it's for OEM, I said one more reason, it doesn't need to affect me directly to be reason to ignore this horrible update with all disadvantages like forcing online account/installation and ridiculous hardware requirements.
Microsoft would quickly hear about that from end-users or the press, and pull that OEM's certification or stop selling them OEM Windows 11 licenses.
These are OEM minimums. Per the linked document Windows 11 will happily install on a machine without a camera (e.g. PCs). It is that Microsoft won't certify OEM's machines/sell them discount licenses without checking these boxes.
