1. Which Microsoft Windows version should I choose?

The choice of Windows version will be determined primarily by your POS software app as to which latest (stable) version it is tested with and supported on. So it is best to check first with your POS software provider. Cloud-based apps that run via a web browser may be less sensitive to the Windows version, but installed POS software applications may have particular requirements specified.

Even where there is no specific technical requirement to use the prescribed Windows version and edition, we recommend to stick to the version your POS software provider advises - that way, in the event of any subsequent software issues they will not be able to suggest that a 'wrong' Windows version is the issue.

Most POS equipment manufacturers that TecStore partners with supply their systems now with Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 64-bit as standard, some provide the options of either Windows 11 IoT or Windows 10 IoT as required, and a few are in the process of migrating to Windows 11 IoT.

Some existing UK stock is offered with Windows 10 IoT and labelled "Windows 11 Ready" meaning these terminals are capable of being updated to Windows 11 IoT if and when required at a later date, but will require a license to be purchased and complete re-installation of existing apps and restoration of data from a prior backup. (Some exceptions apply such as the end of line Toshiba T10 which cannot be upgraded).

Microsoft Windows 11 is the latest version of the popular operating system officially released. However, as POS terminals are business critical systems, the manufacturers have tended to, and many POS software providers and end-user businesses prefer to, stay on tried and tested operating system versions before migrating to newly released Microsoft Windows versions. POS software providers also need time to update and test their software and peripheral device providers to their drivers compatibility with a new version. As their track record shows, Microsoft does tend to require several releases of new operating systems to fix issues before a stable version is established which typically does take 1-2 years following initial release.

So while Windows 11 has been available for some time, it is only since late 2024 and the early part of 2025 that POS equipment manufacturers started migrating to it as more stable editions have been released by Microsoft.

Note: Support for the issue of new updates/patches of Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2021 by Microsoft ios scheduled to continue until January 2032.

The IoT Enterprise edition of Windows 10 and 11 is used predominantly on POS terminals in its 64-bit form, rather than the Home or Professional editions of Windows. This is essentially a business version of Windows without the games, leisure and shopping apps and without the constant pop-ups and without the risk of your POS terminal going into automatic downloads and updates mid-way through a transaction. IoT editions of Windows also have less processor and memory overhead.

The 'LTSC' Long Term Service Channel feature of Windows IoT ensures that only critical security updates are downloaded and done so at longer intervals than conventional Windows devices to avoid disruption to your POS system. Windows IoT Enterprise LTSC is designed to give security and stability to single-function devices such as POS terminals, ATM machines, medical equipment and so on which do not require regular feature updates or such updates may risk compatibility with already working apps and peripherals.

Windows 10 and 11 Enterprise IoT replaces the previous Windows Embedded POS Ready 7 which was the most prevalent Windows version on POS terminals before Windows 10/11 IoT. You can read more about Windows IoT on the Microsoft Website.

Depending on your POS software application and system memory, the 64-bit version is the standard specification.

If, for any particular reason (and very unusually) your POS software application requires the Windows 10 Professional or Windows 11 Professional (instead of the IoT edition) then this can be installed on most POS terminals although the full license will need to be purchased, and various drivers for the touchscreen and interface boards will need to be obtained and installed from the manufacturer. You will also need to concern yourself with update settings and filters for USB, keyboard, gestures, dialog box / notifications and other parameters which may interrupt the continuous running of your POS software.

Depending on processor, there is Windows IoT Enterprise ENTRY version for standard processors like the J1900, J6412, N97 and N150; Windows IoT Enterprise VALUE version for the more powerful Core i3, i5 and similar processors, and the HIGH END version for i7, i9 and similar grade processors.

Tablet-based POS machines previously used Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise version, but now tend to use Windows 11.

In most cases the most suitable Windows version for your hardware configuration will be preloaded prior to despatch. If your software app requires a particular version you must specify this at the time of order.

Windows 10 IoT Ent LTSC and Windows 11 IoT Ent LTSC
Most of our major POS terminal manufacturers now pre-install Windows 11 IoT on new models as standard.

Existing models are available with Windows 10 IoT Enterprise LTSC and this version will continue to be supported by Microsoft until January 2032. See Microsoft Notice here.

The Sam4s Sapphire (Black/Grey) is now available with Windows 11 IoT as standard. Other Sam4s models are supplied with Windows 10 IoT and are 'Windows 11 Ready'.

Most Oxhoo, HiStone and Aures brand terminals are supplied with Windows 11 IoT as standard, with Windows 10 IoT as an option.

The Capture Stingray and Manta terminals are available with Windows 10 IoT or Windows 11 IoT.

The Toshiba TCx810 and all TCx620 and TCx820 models are available with Windows 11 IoT. Other models such as the TCx810e and TCx800 series (except the end of life Toshiba T10) are 'Windows 11 Ready'.

What does 'Windows 11 Ready' mean?
Windows 10 IoT terminals which are 'Windows 11 Ready' can be updated at a later date by downloading and self-installing the new version 11. (see Installation process here). Note: your existing programs and data will first need to be backed-up, and then re-installed again after Windows 11 IoT installation has been completed. You will need to check with your POS app provider if any licenses or network settings also need to be reset.

Also see Windows 11 IoT New Features.

2. What is the difference between the different POS Equipment Manufacturers?

Toshiba, Panasonic, Hisense (now HiStone) and HP are internationally recognised brand names due to these manufacturers also having major consumer product ranges including laptop computers, televisions, printers and other such mass market electronic equipment.

Other leading brands supplied by TecStore such as Aures, Sam4s, Capture, Elo and Poindus may not be as widely known in the consumer market place, as they do not make consumer products, only business equipment. But as specialist manufacturers their equipment is of excellent quality too.

Sam4s (pronounced Sam-For-Ess) is a globally established specialist brand in the business POS equipment market, headquartered in S. Korea. Sam4s is a spin-off division of Samsung established over 35 years ago, to focus solely on touchscreen POS equipment and peripherals, it has distribution in over 50+ countries worldwide including the UK, and is one of the few POS equipment manufacturers that provides the confidence of a 3 year warranty as standard. In the UK Sam4s focuses primarily on 15" and 15.6" widescreen format POS terminals that provide good performance at a low price. Stock availability is generally instant with next day delivery available on most Sam4s models. Since August 2025, Windows 11 IoT is available on the Sam4s Sapphire which also has a powerful N97 processor, 8gb RAM and 128gb SSD. Other models in the Sam4s series are available in Windows 10 IoT with Windows 11 IoT as an option on most.

Aures (now Advantech-Aures) is a leading European POS equipment brand headquartered in France with an establish sales office and service centre in the UK. Aures is a long established manufacturer of 35 years with a range of innovative design terminals and related equipment, standard and high-specification configurations, with some models available in a range of colours and matching peripherals.

Toshiba with its Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions (TGCS) division is a premium brand that manufacturers the robust build quality TCx range of POS terminals with modern slimline, high performance specification and an on-site warranty of between 1-5 years. There is a choice from entry-level Celeron processor, the new N97, through to the latest generation i3, i5 and i7 processors. If your budget is not restricted then you can be assured of the highest build quality, very high levels of reliability, a choice of processors, rear display and peripheral options.

Capture is an emerging POS equipment brand with Scandinavian design from its headquarters in Denmark. It balances good performance, smart slimline design and affordable pricing, with the confidence of a 3 year warranty on all equipment as standard. Capture makes competitively priced 'POS in a Box' bundles complete with POS terminal, receipt printer, cash drawer and optional barcode scanner.

HiStone, or HiStone Intelligent Commercial System Co (HICS) is the spin-off pos equipment division of major Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense Group. Since 1989, HiStone makes a variety of POS terminals for retail and hospitality use from entry-level budget systems to fully configurable high-performance machines with various processor options and stand designs.

The main product differences between the various brands of POS terminal manufacturers is the terminal design, the quality of the casing material and internal chassis, the processor, the type of touch technology, any waterproof features and other protection ratings, the length and type of manufacturers warranty and the established reliability of the model configuration. Collectively these factors determine the corresponding price of each machine. Within a manufacturers range of terminals, there will of course be different options and pricing based on the type and generation of processor, memory, storage and included peripherals.

At TecStore we do not have a preferred brand from all the POS terminals in our portfolio - solutions are recommended based on your POS software provider's specification, existing equipment you have, the required performance specification and peripheral equipment, the type of warranty you require and your budget.

Some other POS solution suppliers provide unbranded or their own brand of equipment with their own POS software, these tend to be re-badged imports from lesser known far east manufacturers with limited warranty and without the established reputation for reliability and service that the major brands carry. At TecStore we only supply POS terminal equipment from the major international brands.

3. Will the equipment be compatible with my POS Software?

POS application software providers will generally specify the size of touchscreen and format supported, the minimum memory and processor requirement, the required storage space, and the number and types of ports for connecting supported peripheral devices. The POS software provider may also specify particular versions of Microsoft Windows that may be required, and any particular apps (eg. Web Browser and version).

We recommend you consult your POS software provider initially to obtain the minimum and recommended hardware specification for which their software has been developed and tested to work on, before choosing your Windows POS terminal. If you have not selected your POS software yet, we advise you do that first. If you require a complete POS solution with hardware and POS software then please see our Full Package Solutions.

Note that some POS software may not support rear customer displays, fingerprint sensors, MSR readers and other POS terminal options - so check before adding these options to your terminal.

Other than tablet-based terminals, most current Windows-based POS terminals do not have wireless connectivity (Bluetooth or WiFi) as standard, so if these interfaces are specifically required then you may need to add them at relatively low cost with a third-party USB adapter. In business use it is always more secure and reliable to use a wired connection, wireless connectivity is prone to various risks and has various dependencies to perform reliably. However, on some recently released equipment such as the Toshiba TCx810 and TCx820 series integrated WiFi is available as an option. Notwithstanding this, our advice is network connectivity on POS terminals is more reliably, more speedily and more securely obtained using a wired Ethernet cable in preference to WiFi.

4. What size of Touch Screen Terminal should I choose?

15" is the universal POS screen size supported by the majority of POS software applications. It is an optimum size to allow sufficient buttons on the screen, and balanced with compactness so as not to use up too much valuable shop counter space. Most screens use the conventional 'square' format (4:3) screen ratio. 15.6" Widescreen (16:9 screen ratio) are becoming increasingly popular.

For specific requirements smaller touchscreen terminals (10", 11", 12" and 14"), tablet pos systems, 15.3" / 15.6" widescreen, and larger 17-22" and POS touchscreen terminals are also available from TecStore.

5. Touchscreen Technology

Older terminals tended to use Resistive (5-wire) touch screens, which effectively rely on a pressure sensor to determine the point of the touchscreen that has been pressed. More recent terminals use Projective Capacitive (PCAP) touch technology that utilises electrodes, which yields a faster and more accurate touch response, and also supports features such as 'multi-touch' where it can sense different points of the screen at the same time to allow zooming and such functions.

6. Which Processor & how much Memory (RAM) do I need?

Most point of sale epos software applications are not processor or memory intensive programs. Typically you scan a barcode (which is like keyboard input) or select a menu item on the screen, that is then looked up in a local or cloud-based database, and added to a bill, sales / stock files are updated on the database and a mini receipt of a few lines may be printed - it is really very simple processing.

So POS terminals do not usually require powerful processors, expensive graphics cards or large amounts of memory, as the surplus power will not be used with most epos software. If your epos program uses graphic images or plays advertising videos, or you intend to run multiple apps on the machine then a faster processor and more memory may make a difference.

For the majority of current mainstream POS applications, whether in retail or hospitality, whether installed or cloud-based, an Intel Celeron Quad Core processor (such as an Intel J6412 Celeron up to 2.6Ghz) and 4GB of RAM is the minimum, but 8gb is recommended for Windows 11. Newer models may use the new N97 quad core processor, based on Intel 12th generation architecture. This supersedes the Intel J6412 and has a speed up to 3.6Ghz and is considerably faster for similar power consumption. Of course you will notice a difference in response time and screen refreshes with faster Core i3-N305, Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processor terminals, but there is obviously a price difference. The new Intel Core (Series 1) POS All-in-One terminals provide high performance options such as the 130UL (up to 4.7Ghz) available with some high-end Toshiba TCx820 terminals.

There will usually be one RAM memory slot on most POS terminals, or two RAM memory slots on some models. It is therefore best to choose your required memory capacity (4g, 8gb, 16gb, 32gb, 64gb, right upto 96gb on some models) at the outset so it can be factory fitted. N97 and N305 models have a single memory slot; 64gb/96gb applies to Core models only. Opening a terminal to fit new memory later on will usually invalidate the manufacturers warranty.

If your POS software has greater requirements, or you require a machine which will be more futureproof long term and capable of supporting newer operating systems, newer software and/or different software architectures, then at TecStore we offer a range of more powerful machines with Core i3, i5, i7 processors, Core (Series 1) and N305 processor and memory upgrades of 8gb, 16gb, 32gb RAM (64gb/96gb on some higher-spec models) if required.

Most POS terminals support Gigabit (1000Mbit/s) Ethernet for network connnectivity..

If you are using a cloud-based POS application, it does not matter how powerful your local processor or network board or how much memory you have on your POS terminal if the performance bottlenecks are caused by slow internet speed or issues on the remote website or remote server.

In summary, for entry-level systems a Celeron J6412 based system with 4gb RAM would be suitable, systems with Intel N97 with 8gb RAM are faster than the J6412 yet are also low cost. For higher performance and future proofness, we would recommend an i5 processor with 16gb RAM, or an N305 or a Core 5 (Series 1) processor with 16gb RAM. In both cases you should always the check the minimum hardware requirements with your POS software app provider first.

7. How much storage space do I require on the POS terminal?

Cloud-based POS apps will require minimal local storage space for the web browser and locally installed app and any locally stored transaction data. Installed apps will require more space to store the entire POS program, your database with business details, products data and other related information, and your transactions. If you intend to use the POS terminal for other uses (eg. accounts package, newsagent software, pharmacy ordering etc) then you will also require additional space for those apps.

Hard drives, which mechanically spin around continuously and make a whirring noise, were the greatest weakness historically in POS terminals and the highest failing component. Fortunately, in recent times, nearly all POS terminals use SSD rather than mechanical hard drives.

SSD provide faster access and write times and are much more reliable and silent in operation. SSD also uses less power. 128gb is the current typical capacity specification for most POS terminals, low cost terminals may have 64gb SSD. Options to upgrade to 256gb, 512gb or 1TB are available on some terminals. Even if all the programs and data are stored locally that allows many years of transactional records to be stored. Options for Dual SSD slots are available on the higher specification POS terminals.

SSD is available in different forms: SATA being currently the common standard, PCIe offering faster connectivity speeds, and NVMe being the fastest and becoming more prevalent. Where SATA is the standard specification on a POS terminal, some manufacturers do offer NVMe as an option.

Most terminals only have 1 integrated SSD slot so you should select your expected capacity at the outset. Due to the requirement for the manufacturers pre-loaded operating system image with required drivers for the touch screen, ports and other peripherals it is not straightforward to upgrade storage later on without having to also obtain and load all the required drivers.

In terms of form factor, SATA connection drives are commonly supplied as 2.5" modules. Smaller size M.2 is also used by some manufacturers. U.2 is a larger size drive used for higher-performance SSD often used for NVMe.

Some smaller POS terminals or tablet-based POS equipment may use Embedded MultiMediaCard (eMMC) instead of SSD.

If the machine is dedicated for POS use, then it is unlikely you will be downloading videos, email attachments, large documents etc. The machine will either just hold temporary data for cloud-based POS applications, or reference data (products/prices) and transactional data for installed POS applications. In either case, 64gb or 128gb in practical terms is sufficient for most requirements.

Many manufacturers make their SSD module accessible without the need for any tools or to open up the main terminal components. This provides for efficiency when migrating from one terminal to another, for example, during a repair or replacement procedure.

Note that the full capacity of an SSD will not be available for programs and data, as a section is used for the Windows operating system and for any manufacturers utilities and restore tools. So, for example, on a 256gb SSD, perhaps 240gb or less will be available to use, or 120gb or less on a 128gb SSD.

8. My software requires an MSR Reader

A Magnetic Stripe Reader is an optional add-on peripheral available for most POS terminals. It allows you to swipe a magstripe card, either for staff login or to identify a customer for membership or loyalty points. Depending on the type of terminal, the MSR reader will connect as a Serial or USB device.

At TecStore we can supply custom design plastic cards for use as staff login cards, membership cards or loyalty cards - see our POS Accessories section.

Note: An MSR only has these uses, it cannot be used to process credit/debit card payments in the UK. To process card payments you will require a merchant account and either a supported NFC module or an external card payment terminal.

9. My software requires an iKey / Dallas Key Reader

iKeys or Dallas keys are small fobs that facilitate staff login, instead of using magstripe cards or pin numbers. An optional Reader has to be fitted to the POS terminal and you will need to allocate a specific key fob to each staff member, if your POS software app supports this. The keys are usually magnetic.

Some manufacturers may use their own proprietary name to refer to iKey/Dallas key readers, but they equate to the same thing being a small metal round reader, with a rim, about the size of a 10p coin.

10. My software requires a Fingerprint Sensor

This is an optional peripheral available for some touchscreen terminals. If your POS software app supports it, it can be used for staff login or to verify a customer or member. Most integrated Fingerprint Readers work as a USB device. You may also connect an external Fingerprint Reader to a USB port on the terminal.

11. Do you require a Rear Customer Display?

As standard, most touchscreen terminals do not include a rear facing customer display. These are optionally available if you wish to display items and prices as they are registered on a rear customer-facing screen, or if you wish to run advertising graphics, promotions and other information displays.

Customer Displays can either be integrated into the rear of the terminal, or they can be externally mounted on a pole or bracket and connected to the terminal with a cable.

The lowest cost option is a 2-line character display also known as a VFD display. Depending on your software app, this will typically show a 'Welcome' message at the start of the transaction, and then show the item name and price as sales are registered, followed by the Total Due and the Change Due.

A popular option is a graphical customer display. They are usually available in 10" (ranging from 9.7" to 10.1") and 15" sizes, but some terminals offer alternative size options. This larger size customer display allows multiple lines of a transaction to be displayed while a sale is in progress. In the surrounds or outside of a transaction, it can display advertising graphics. Depending on your software app, this can range from large text messages, jpeg files, mp4 videos and html/css content with video and audio.

Usually for 2-line rear integrated displays, a single serial cable will connect the rear screen to the terminal for both signal and power. For graphical displays, they usually have a separate power cable, and a separate signal (VGA or HDMI) cable, although some screens may use USB for both power and signal. Either way, the required cable(s) are included with the rear screen.

Some POS apps may use an external customer display which operates independently of the POS terminal, and connects via ethernet to the provider's server to obtain content.

On some terminals, it is possible to get an interactive rear touchscreen which would allow the customer to interact, such as make choices (1 sugar / 2 sugars, Brown Sauce / Ketchup etc), or take part in surveys. Your software app would need to be capable of supporting such features.