Windows 11, ever since version 24H2, has been bifurcated into two distinct categories. The first is the general PC, like it used to be, while the second is the new AI PC that Microsoft officially refers to as the
Copilot+ PCs. The latter also has a different set of minimum system requirements compared to the vanilla systems. While the latter needs
4GB RAM (at least on paper) and
64 GB of disk space, the Copilot+ PCs require
16GB RAM and
256 GB of storage.
The fourfold increase in storage and memory requirements is there for a reason, alongside the need for a 40+ TOP NPU.
Doing the locally installed AI processing, of course, requires additional resources compared to a base Windows 11 system, and the components themselves also eat up quite a lot of additional storage space. As you see in the screenshot below, the AI Phi Silica component is consuming over 2.5 GB of disk. If you notice, there is a new "Uninstall" button right below it that will remove the component after a system reboot.
Microsoft is reevaluating its AI efforts on Windows 11 — plans to reduce Copilot integrations and evolve Recall
Microsoft Belatedly Delivers Windows 11 24H2 Preview Update for April