Tablets and convertibles[edit]

Microsoft released minimum hardware requirements for new tablet and convertible devices certified for Windows 8, and defined a convertible form factor as a standalone device that combines the PC, display and rechargeable power source with a mechanically attached keyboard and pointing device in a single chassis. A convertible can be transformed into a tablet where the attached input devices are hidden or removed leaving the display as the only input mechanism.[121][122] On March 12, 2013, Microsoft amended its certification requirements to only require that screens on tablets have a minimum resolution of 1024×768 (down from the previous 1366×768). The amended requirement is intended to allow "greater design flexibility" for future products.[123]
Hardware certification requirements for Windows tablets[124]Graphics card    DirectX 10 graphics device with WDDM 1.2 or higher driver
Storage    10 GB free space, after the out-of-box experience completes
Standard buttons    'Power', 'Rotation lock', 'Windows Key', 'Volume-up', 'Volume-down'
Screen    Touch screen supporting a minimum of 5-point digitizers and resolution of at least 1024×768. The physical dimensions of the display panel must match the aspect ratio of the native resolution. The native resolution of the panel can be greater than 1024 (horizontally) and 768 (vertically). Minimum native color depth is 32-bits. If the display is under 1366×768, disclaimers must be included in documentation to notify users that the Snap function is not available.[123]
Camera    Minimum 720p
Accelerometer    3 axes with data rates at or above 50 Hz
USB 2.0    At least one controller and exposed port.
Connect    Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 + LE (low energy)
Other    Speaker, microphone, magnetometer and gyroscope.

If a mobile broadband device is integrated into a tablet or convertible system, then an assisted GPS radio is required. Devices supporting near field communication need to have visual marks to help users locate and use the proximity technology. The new button combination for Ctrl + Alt + Del is Windows Key + Power.


Updated certification requirements will be implemented to coincide with Windows 8.1. In 2014, all certified devices with integrated displays must contain a 720p webcam and higher quality speakers and microphones, while all certified devices that support Wi-Fi must support Bluetooth as well. In 2015, all certified devices must contain Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chips.[125][126]
Editions and pricing[edit]

Hardware requirements[edit]

Hardware requirements[edit]
PCs[edit]

The minimum system requirements for Windows 8 are slightly higher than those of Windows 7. The CPU must support the Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX bit, and SSE2. Windows Store apps require a screen resolution of 1024×768 or higher to run; a resolution of 1366×768 or higher is required to use the snap functionality.[115] To receive certification, Microsoft requires candidate x86 systems to resume from standby in 2 seconds or less.[116]
Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 8[117]Requirement    Minimum    Recommended
Processor    1 GHz clock rate
IA-32 or x64 architecture
Support for PAE, NX and SSE2[118][119]    x64 architecture
Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) support for Hyper-V
Memory (RAM)    IA-32 edition: 1 GB
x64 edition: 2 GB    4 GB
Graphics Card    DirectX 9 graphics device
WDDM 1.0 or higher driver    DirectX 10 graphics device
Display screen    N/A    1024×768 pixels
Input device    Keyboard and mouse    multi-touch display screen
Hard disk space    IA-32 edition: 16 GB
x64 edition: 20 GB    N/A
Other    N/A    UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B with Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in its database
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Internet connectivity


Microsoft's Connected Standby specification, which hardware vendors may optionally comply with, sets new power consumption requirements that extend above the above minimum specifications.[120] Included in this standard are a number of security-specific requirements designed to improve physical security, notably against Cold Boot Attacks.

Removed features[edit]

Removed features[edit]
Main article: List of features removed in Windows 8

Several notable features have been removed in Windows 8, beginning with the traditional Start menu. Support for playing DVD-Video has been removed from Windows Media Player due to the cost of licensing the necessary decoders (especially for devices which do not include optical disc drives at all) and the prevalence of streaming services such as Netflix. For the same reasons, Windows Media Center is not included by default on Windows 8, but Windows Media Center and DVD playback support can be purchased in the "Pro Pack" (which upgrades the system to Windows 8 Pro) or "Media Center Pack" add-on for Windows 8 Pro. As with prior versions, third-party DVD player software can still be used to enable DVD playback.[113]

Backup and Restore, the backup component of Windows, is deprecated. It still ships with Windows 8 and continues to work on preset schedules, but is pushed to the background and can only be accessed through a Control Panel applet called "Windows 7 File Recovery".[114]:76 Shadow Copy, a component of Windows Explorer that once saved previous versions of changed files, no longer protects local files and folders. It can only access previous versions of shared files stored on a Windows Server computer.[114]:74 The subsystem on which these components worked, however, is still available for other software to use.[114]:74

Interface and desktop[edit]

Interface and desktop[edit]

Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's user interface, many of which are aimed at improving its experience on tablet computers and other touchscreen devices. The new user interface is based on Microsoft's Metro design language, and uses a Start screen similar to that of Windows Phone as the primary means of launching applications. The Start screen displays a customizable array of tiles linking to various apps and desktop programs, some of which can display constantly updated information and content through "live tiles".[90] As a form of multi-tasking, apps can be snapped to the side of a screen.[90] Alongside the traditional Control Panel, a new simplified and touch-optimized settings app known as "PC Settings" is used for basic configuration and user settings. It does not include many of the advanced options still accessible from the normal Control Panel.[107]

A vertical toolbar known as the charms[108] (accessed by swiping from the right edge of a touchscreen, or pointing the cursor at hotspots in the right corners of a screen) provides access to system and app-related functions, such as search, sharing, device management, settings, and a Start button.[108][109] The traditional desktop environment for running desktop applications is accessed via a tile on the Start screen. The Start button on the taskbar from previous versions of Windows has been converted into a hotspot in the lower-left corner of the screen, which displays a large tooltip displaying a thumbnail of the Start screen.[110][111] Swiping from the left edge of a touchscreen or clicking in the top-left corner of the screen allows one to switch between apps and Desktop. Pointing the cursor in the top-left corner of the screen and moving down reveals a thumbnail list of active apps.[111] Aside from the removal of the Start button and the replacement of the Aero Glass theme with a flatter and solid-colored design, the desktop interface on Windows 8 is similar to that of Windows 7.[112]

Web browsers[edit]

Web browsers[edit]

Exceptions to the restrictions faced by Windows Store apps are given to web browsers. The user's default browser can distribute a Metro-style web browser in same package as the desktop version, which has access to functionality unavailable to other apps, such as being able to permanently run in the background, use multiple background processes, and use Windows API code instead of WinRT (allowing for code to be re-used with the desktop version, while still taking advantage of features available to Windows Store apps, such as charms). Microsoft advertises this exception privilege "New experience enabled" (formerly "Metro-style enabled").

The developers of both Chrome and Firefox committed to developing Metro-style versions of their browsers; while Chrome's "Windows 8 mode" uses a full-screen version of the existing desktop interface, Firefox's version (which was first made available on the "Aurora" release channel in September 2013) uses a touch-optimized interface inspired by the Android version of Firefox. In October 2013, Chrome's app was changed to mimic the desktop environment used by Chrome OS.[100][101][102][103][104][105] Development of the Firefox app for Windows 8 has since been cancelled, citing a lack of user adoption for the beta versions.[106]

Windows Store apps[edit]

Windows Store apps[edit]

Snap feature: Xbox Music, alongside Photos snapped into a sidebar to the right side of the screen

Snap feature: Desktop, along Wikipedia App snapped into a sidebar to the right side of the screen. In Windows 8, desktop and everything on it are treated as one Metro-style app.

Windows 8 introduces a new style of application, Windows Store apps. According to Microsoft developer Jensen Harris, these apps are to be optimized for touchscreen environments and will be more specialized than current desktop applications. Apps can run either in a full-screen mode, or be snapped to the side of a screen.[90] Apps can provide toast notifications on screen or animate their tiles on the Start screen with dynamic content. Apps can use "contracts"; a collection of hooks to provide common functionality that can integrate with other apps, including search and sharing.[90] Apps can also provide integration with other services; for example, the People app can connect to a variety of different social networks and services (such as Facebook, Skype, and People service), while the Photos app can aggregate photos from services such as Facebook and Flickr.[86]

Windows Store apps run within a new set of APIs known as Windows Runtime, which supports programming languages such as C, C++, Visual Basic .NET, C#, along with HTML5 and JavaScript.[90] If written in some "high-level" languages, apps written for Windows Runtime can be compatible with both Intel and ARM versions of Windows,[91] otherwise they are not binary code compatible. Components may be compiled as Windows Runtime Components, permitting consumption by all compatible languages.[92] To ensure stability and security, apps run within a sandboxed environment, and require permissions to access certain functionality, such as accessing the Internet or a camera.[93]

Retail versions of Windows 8 will be able to install these apps only through Windows Store—a namesake distribution platform which offers both apps, and listings for desktop programs certified for comparability with Windows 8.[91][93] A method to sideload apps from outside Windows Store is available to devices running Windows 8 Enterprise and joined to a domain; Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT devices that are not part of a domain can also sideload apps, but only after special product keys are obtained through volume licensing.[94]

The term "Immersive app" had been used internally by Microsoft developers to refer to the apps prior to the first official presentation of Windows 8, after which they were referred to as "Metro-style apps" in reference to the Metro design language. The term was phased out in August 2012; a Microsoft spokesperson denied rumors that the change was related to a potential trademark issue, and stated that "Metro" was only a codename that would be replaced prior to Windows 8's release.[17][95] Following these reports, the terms "Modern UI-style apps",[96] "Windows 8-style apps"[97] and "Windows Store apps" began to be used by various Microsoft documents and material to refer to the new apps. In an interview on September 12, 2012, Soma Somasegar (vice president of Microsoft's development software division) confirmed that "Windows Store apps" would be the official term for the apps.[98] An MSDN page explaining the Metro design language uses the term "Modern design" to refer to the language as a whole.[99]

Online services and functionality[edit]

Windows 8 provides heavier integration with online services from Microsoft and others. A user can now log in to Windows with a Microsoft account, which can be used to access services and synchronize applications and settings between devices. Windows 8 also ships with a client app for Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service, which also allows apps to save files directly to SkyDrive. A SkyDrive client for the desktop and File Explorer is not included in Windows 8, and must be downloaded separately.[84] Bundled multimedia apps are provided under the Xbox brand, including Xbox Music, Xbox Video, and the Xbox SmartGlass companion for use with an Xbox 360 console. Games can integrate into an Xbox Live hub app, which also allows users to view their profile and gamerscore.[85] Other bundled apps provide the ability to link Flickr and Facebook.[86]

Internet Explorer 10 is included as both a desktop program and a touch-optimized app, and includes increased support for HTML5, CSS3, and hardware acceleration. The Internet Explorer app does not support plugins or ActiveX components, but includes a version of Adobe Flash Player that is optimized for touch and low power usage. Initially, Adobe Flash would only work on sites included on a "Compatibility View" whitelist; however, after feedback from users and additional compatibility tests, an update in March 2013 changed this behavior to use a smaller blacklist of sites with known compatibility issues instead, allowing Flash to be used on most sites by default.[87] The desktop version does not contain these limitations.[88]

Windows 8 also incorporates improved support for mobile broadband; the operating system can now detect the insertion of a SIM card and automatically configure connection settings (including APNs and carrier branding), track and reduce bandwidth use on metered networks. Windows 8 also adds an integrated airplane mode setting to globally disable all wireless connectivity as well. Carriers can also offer account management systems through Windows Store apps, which can be automatically installed as a part of the connection process and offer usage statistics on their respective tile.[89]
Windows Store apps[edit]