Netflix 4K streaming service is finally making its way into the Windows 10 platform. However, the service requires a specific hardware spec to run.
Netflix has yet to confirm the news, but Windows Blog editor-in-chief Mollie Ruiz-Hopper confirmed on Monday that the feature is already up and running. Ruiz-Hopper said that Microsoft Edge uses less battery compared to Google Chrome when streaming online contents.
Ruiz-Hopper wrote, "When streaming Netflix on Microsoft Edge you can get through at least one more full episode of Gilmore Girls than when streaming on battery."
While this new feature may sound very interesting, especially for Windows 10 users, there are a lot of restrictions and requirements to stream 4K contents. Ruiz-Hopper pointed out that Windows 10 devices require at least a seventh-generation Intel Kaby Lake processor to stream 4K contents using Microsoft Edge.
It is important to note that Intel will not release the Kaby Lake processors until the latter part of the year. This restriction leaves a lot of users without much options, especially those who wants to stream 4K contents on their desktop computers. For now, only a handful of Windows 10 devices meet that specific processor requirement, one of which is the Lenovo Yoga 910.
Microsoft did provide a list of devices that support 4K content. However, some of these devices do not have a Kaby Lake processor, but rather the older Skylake generation of chips. According to Digital Trends, these devices may be able to handle video playback in 4K resolution, but will not necessarily be able to handle 4K streaming from Netflix.
Other specs like memory requirement were not pointed out, although the Kaby Lake restriction sums everything up. Streaming 4K Netflix contents also require a fast internet connection. Netflix has released a speed index for various internet service providers which should be a good guide when picking a service provider to subscribe to.