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In a fresh development, in an official Windows blog post, Microsoft just unveiled a fresh milestone: over 7,000 apps and platform releases are now optimized and available for the Arm version of Windows.
In a fresh development, whereas traditional Windows PCs run on x86 and x64 chips by Intel and AMD, modern Windows on Arm are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. Other chipmakers are also developing their own Arm-based options, including Nvidia with its RTX Spark system-on-a-chip. Windows on Arm is a version of the operating system that’s designed specifically to run on Arm-based chips.
According to the latest update, because Arm chips are significantly more energy-efficient, meaning much longer battery life while drawing less power, generating less heat, and running much more quietly. But the biggest hurdle for Arm-based systems has always been compatibility. Most apps are designed for x86/x64 systems and can’t run properly on Arm-based systems, and many devices accessories don’t have Arm-compatible drivers. Why is Windows on Arm such a big deal?
According to the latest update, as the number of Arm-compatible apps and platform releases increases, the arguments against Windows on Arm dwindle away. And when critical mass is reached, we’ll reach a point where we can harness all the benefits of Arm-based architecture with little or none of the downsides getting in the way. That’s why this disclosure is worth celebrating.
As part of the ongoing story, among the 7,000+ apps and platform releases that now work with Windows on Arm, you’ll find high-profile apps like 1Password, Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom, Blender, Davinci Resolve, Firefox, GIMP, Libre Office, Signal, Spotify, VLC, and more. The blog post points to Works on Windows on Arm, a site that catalogs all the different apps and platform releases that are Arm-compatible.
As part of the ongoing story, it’s an important milestone, but it’s also good to keep in mind that 7,000+ apps and platform releases are still just a drop in the ocean compared to the number of apps available for Windows x86/x64. The aim of Microsoft’s milestone disclosure is to promote the fall arrival of Arm-based computers from Microsoft, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI.
According to the latest update, note that this emulation process isn’t as good as native support, so programs will use more power and won’t perform as well—a significant loss in battery life, which is the whole selling point of Arm. For apps and platform releases that aren’t natively Arm-compatible, there’s also emulation via Prism, which is Microsoft’s built-in emulation layer on Windows 11 that makes x86/x64 apps runnable on Arm.
Industry observers note that back in 2024, we advised against getting a Snapdragon laptop for tech industry. Not much has changed since then, with the newer Snapdragon X2 still lacking smooth support. Maybe we’ll see a lot more progress on this front if Nvidia’s RTX Spark can make a big splash, but until then, these 7,000+ apps alone aren’t enough. And it still leaves gamers in a bind.
As part of the ongoing story, this article originally appeared on our sister publication PC för Alla and was translated and localized from Swedish.
The report highlights that he has previously worked with Macworld, but today mainly writes for our sister sites PC för Alla and M3. Mikael has a firm grasp on which gadgets are dropped, and what is happening with the streaming services and the most recent AI tools. Mikael writes news across all our consumer tech categories.
The report highlights that he's been with PCWorld since 2024 and writes about digital security and other computer-related topics. He was previously the Editor in Chief of MakeUseOf from 2018 to 2021 and the Founder/Editor of whatNerd. He has a B.S. In Computer Science. Joel is a Senior Editor at PCWorld and has been writing/editing consumer technology content for over 12 years.