They are testing a desktop watermark for unsupported configuration, so it does seem like
someone in Microsoft isn't happy with people bypassing the cpu and Tpm requirements.
Perhaps that cat is out of the bag for Windows 11 and so they want to move ahead with Windows 12 that would see cpu and Tpm requirements fully enforced.
With the latest changes to Win11, it sounds like they're trying to move to a paid subscription model. Thus all the hardware lockdown. So I would expect more versions in an attempt to accelerate the progression.
I think the hardware lockdown is driven by the need to speed up development efforts and software engineers not wanting to support legacy hardware since it mean too many design level compromises.
The paranoid voice in the back of my head says that Intel/Amd are pushing them to cut support for hardware. I’m running an i7 laptop with a decent SSD from 12 years ago as my daily driver and >90% of the time it is surprisingly very smooth.
