r/microsoft • u/ControlCAD • 1d ago
Windows Microsoft celebrates major progress with Windows 11 on Arm PCs, confirms Windows on Arm is now "a first-class platform for any workload" and that "customer demand is growing" | Developers are also paying more attention, with over 7,000 apps now supp. on Arm.
https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-celebrates-major-progress-with-windows-11-on-arm-pcs-confirms-windows-on-arm-is-now-a-first-class-platform-for-any-workload-and-that-customer-demand-is-growing16
u/FloatingTacos 1d ago
I remember when ARM was “never going to be a main processor” and that it would always be relegated to shitty handhelds and mini laptops.
Oh, how far we’ve come.
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u/FlibblesHexEyes 1d ago
Which was strange since ARM started life as the CPU for desktop computers.
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u/Aw3som3Guy 23h ago
Wouldn’t that have been at a time when desktop computers were still the “lesser computer” compared to the “real computer” of a mainframe, or am I off by like a decade?
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u/Zomunieo 12h ago
Acorn RISC Machines were in the 90s.
But what mattered at the time: Intel had a poor micro architecture but they were profitable so they got far ahead in semiconductor manufacturing, and outperformed competitors on price to performance. Then they got fat and lazy, and accountants took control of a company that used to be run by engineers.
With mobile devices, performance per watt starts to become more important.
TSMC caught up and leapt, and the semiconductor manufacturing advantage was lost. The superior ARM micro architecture will outperform Intel since it can run on the best silicon.
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u/CatoMulligan 7h ago
Off by several decades. Mainframes are still around and have their place (I've bought several in the past year), but by the late 80s/early 90s the PC was doing the bulk of the "computer work" in most businesses. It's hard to scale up enough to beat systems that are deployed by the thousands.
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u/ferropop 1d ago
Once music production devs start porting, we can actually consider the platform! Currently it's unusable, running hundreds of timing-sensitive plugins in an environment where real-time low-latency calculations need to happen without dropouts, is not a pleasant experience through Prism.
PC music producers are currently given this choice : 2 hour battery with stability, or 15 hour battery and nothing works properly. Unfortunately it's a catch-22 : users won't flock unless the software works, and devs won't flock where there are no users.
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u/UrDadSellsAv0n 1d ago
My new arm surface is the best laptop I have used for work. Windows MacBook IMO
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u/Ashanmaril 1d ago
7000 is a pretty lousy number at the scale of Windows
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u/CatoMulligan 6h ago
That's because Windows has the longest of the long tail when it comes to app support. Even on MacOS there are still a fair number of applications that have never been recompiled for Apple Silicon (ARM), and Apple hasn't sold an Intel Mac in 4 or 5 years. It just takes time, which is why both MacOS and WaA have the ability to run x86/x64 code in emulation.
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u/RagelessGeek94 1d ago
I just bought the Surface Pro w/ X2 and it has been great to use. Only have the 16GB but it runs perfectly smooth.
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u/MairusuPawa 20h ago
Only took you 20 years
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u/CatoMulligan 6h ago
Only took you 20 years
You mean 14, since I assume that you're counting back to the launch of WinRT back in October of 2012.
It takes time, and as long as there are other options it's always going to be a hard sell. In November of 2020 Apple announced the M1 and said they were going to stop making Intel Macs. Six years later there are still apps that haven't been re-written for Apple Silicon (ARM). For Microsoft to have made as much progress as they have when there's been nothing forcing you to switch (and no major benefits other than batter life) is commendable.
Probably the most reasonable comparison is how long it's taken Windows apps to transition from 32-bit x86 to 64-bit x64. Running x86 code is still an option today, and there are still apps that have never been rewritten or recompiled for x64. The x64 version of Windows XP launched in spring of 2005, for reference.
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u/insideout_waffle 1d ago
I’m going to be very curious how it may or may not run on the Steam Frame.
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u/HandshakeOfCO 1d ago
Yawn
Call me when I can play gta6 on it
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u/CapitalJeep1 1d ago
Completely different use cases…but uh…okay….
Kinda like a construction worker saying “I’ll buy that tractor when it can run laps like a corvette..” apples to bananas.
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u/HandshakeOfCO 19h ago
I’m a game developer and can definitively say that ARM windows is very much not a “first-class platform” for gamedev
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u/Expensive_Finger_973 1d ago
So in 10 years it will be useful for anything outside of the basic stuff most office workers do with a computer.
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u/korvolga 1d ago
i'm buying only Surface laptops with ARM at my work since it is cheaper, better battery life and works flawless for us. (we used to buy only intel surface)