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Microsoft Is Bringing Windows 10 To ARM, x86 Apps Included

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JaggedSac

Member
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10889/microsoft-and-qualcomm-bring-windows-10-to-snapdragon-processors


These new Snapdragon-powered devices should support all things Microsoft, including Microsoft Office, Windows Hello, Windows Pen, and the Edge browser, alongside third-party Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps and Win32 apps. They should even be able to play Crysis 2.



https://www.petri.com/microsoft-bringing-windows-10-arm-x86-apps-included

This announcement, made by Terry Myerson, has been the culmination of a partnership with Qualcomm and will allow for traditional Windows apps (Win32), peripherals and enterprise features on ARM-powered devices. Microsoft calls these devices cellular PCs and they will be ushering in a dramatic change in how we think about Windows.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_GlGglbu1U&feature=share
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Microsoft's container/emulation technology is always impressive.
This is through an emulator right? Hope the performance is good.
The x86 apps are able to run using some level of emulation.

Microsoft has been perfecting this tech for a long while. I'm pretty damned sure that it's partly/mostly/entirely* the reason why they even have backwards compatibility on Xbox One that allows them to play 360 games built in a different architecture as well.

*I'm leaning towards entirely.
 

Marche90

Member
This is through an emulator right? Hope the performance is good.

In the video it says it is.

I wonder how long it'll take for this to release to final consumers, since I would love an ARM-based Windows tablet with the ability to use normal apps. One of the biggest reasons why Windows RT failed so badly was because it was unable to run Win32 apps, but with this that issue is gone.
 

Renekton

Member
Also included in OneCore UAP is Universal Windows Platform (UWP). An extension of the WinRT API used in Windows 8, it allows developers to create universal apps that are CPU architecture agnostic and can run on multiple devices, seamlessly adapting their user interface and input methods to the hardware they’re running on.
Oo UWP
 
Apple is already going to switch to their own chips. If MS makes the same move....lol intel. It's all their fault anyway with their silly delays and not being able to keep up anyway.
 

Somnid

Member
It doesn't matter. The reason mobile works is the simplified app model. Adobe can't install Creative Cloud to police DRM sucking battery and bandwidth and drop a 2GB swap file on my limited storage without my consent. All the things UWP solves, but PC users are scared of.
 

Vic

Please help me with my bad english
Intel shook

BTW, I except Apple to do something similar with their MacBooks + MacOS within the next 3 years. Makes too much sense.
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
Intel shook

BTW, I except Apple to do something similar with their MacBooks + MacOS within the next 3 years. Makes too much sense.

If they don't quickly enough, MS is going to start mauling market share if they release a Surface at around $300-400 with full x86 functionality
 
Definitely will be interesting to see how they could piecemeal it so people can have that last bit of flexibility they may be looking for with an iOS or Android device to do everything they need.
 

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
If they don't quickly enough, MS is going to start mauling market share if they release a Surface at around $300-400 with full x86 functionality

I don't think Apple really cares about their Mac sales. It has different audience and Windows on ARM doesn't eat Mac share.

This is going to keep MS in the fight with Google's chromebook
 

DopeyFish

Not bitter, just unsweetened
I don't think Apple really cares about their Mac sales. It has different audience and Windows on ARM doesn't eat Mac share.

This is going to keep MS in the fight with Google's chromebook

This is taking aim at ipad more than anything.
 

btrboyev

Member
this is huge if it doesn't run like crap.. that video looks super smooth

Microsofts engineers are god like with their emulation. The fact that an Xbox One can emulate a 360 with better performance says volumes about the quality work they do.
 
Doesnt surprise me. Intel has been a bit of a letdown lately. Just ask Apple and MS. Intel put a lot of grief in MS after the Skylake debacle. I hope this could lead to MS customizing their own chips similar to what Apple does with iOS.

The future of computing is moving towards devices being thinner and faster and ARM is doing really well in this area.
 

Azih

Member
Intel shook

BTW, I except Apple to do something similar with their MacBooks + MacOS within the next 3 years. Makes too much sense.
It took MS like ten years of painful steps to get from Windows 7 to this. It's a terribly hard thing to do and get right.
 

Guess Who

Banned
The big limitation here is that the x86 emulator can only run x86 apps, which is to say, 32-bit x86 apps, not x86_64. Considering how much software is going 64-bit, that's actually a big downside.

I'm also curious what the performance will be like. Notepad or whatever will be fine, but Photoshop? 3D gaming?
 
So, should we expect to RTM around the time the Surface 5/Surface Pro 5/Phone (?) launches - namely, Redstone 3?

I assume this was in response to Intel cancelling their low-powered Atom line, which effectively killed the next Surface until MS shipped this capability. After all, Microsoft needs a product to compete in that price range and also opens the floodgates for mobile hardware makers to introduce new devices without the costs associated with Intel processors.

The only thing that remains is to see how is the performance with an emulator. Things as AutoCAD, Solidworks or MATLAB are obviously out of range for such platform, but if this thing is enough to drive light PC gaming and Office, it might good enough for several use cases.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I guess this means I won't have to give up Windows Boot Camp if Mac ever switches to ARM.
 
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