Microsoft is yet to announce the official release date for Windows 11, but developers are already shipping public versions of their apps and drivers with Windows 11 support. Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD have already released Windows 11-optimized GPU drivers (Intel has also shipped Bluetooth and Wi-Fi drivers), and now motherboard manufacturers ship new "Windows 11-ready" firmware.
While there is nothing unusual in OEMs updating BIOSes on their motherboards to prepare users for the upcoming release of Windows 11, what is interesting is that ASUS began updating officially unsupported by Microsoft hardware. The company is now shipping new BIOS versions with Windows 11 support for the Intel 6th and 7th gen CPUs (Socket 1151). In case you missed it, the official specifications for Windows 11 require 8th gen CPUs from Intel or 2nd gen CPUs from AMD with Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 support.
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It looks like "Windows 11-optimized" BIOS updates simply enable Trusted Platform Module (Intel PTT) on TPM 2.0-compatible motherboards. That ensures users do not need to dig into BIOS settings to find all the settings Microsoft requires to be on before installing Windows 11. Of course, you can go to BIOS and enable TPM and Secure Boot without installing new firmware. In fact, we have a dedicated guide that describes how to enable Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 on Intel and AMD-based computers.
Note that Windows 11 compatibility checker will flag your system unsupported, even if you have the latest CPU from Intel or AMD with disabled TPM. That is why manufacturers ship new BIOS updates that do all the job instead of users in making sure Windows 11-compatible hardware is properly configured to receive the newest operating system from Microsoft.
It is worth mentioning that enabling Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 on a PC with unsupported by Windows 11 CPU does not necessarily give you a chance to install Windows 11. What ASUS does is configuring your system to receive Windows 11, and it is now up to Microsoft to decide whether Intel 6th and 7th gen processors can run the new OS.
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with MS updating their system requirements a few days ago to only allow a few 7th gen Intel CPUs for the Win11 upgrade, it seems MS has screwed Asus