CheckMag | Windows on ARM is certainly more dead than it is alive

Over the last 22 months, Notebookcheck has tested 10 laptops powered by ARM architecture processors. The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s G1 stands out as the only system that runs Windows; all the rest are MacBooks powered by various Apple silicon chips:

• 92% - Apple MacBook Pro 14 2021 review
• 92% - Apple MacBook Pro 13 2022 M2 review
• 92% - Apple MacBook Air M2 Entry review (13.6-inch model)
• 92% - Apple MacBook Air M2 review (13.6-inch model)
• 94% - Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 review
• 93% - Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023 Entry review
• 92% - Apple MacBook Air 15 2023 M2 review (15.3-inch model)
• 90% - Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023 M3 review
• 93% - Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 Max review

Now, Windows on ARM indeed has enabled enthusiasts all over the world who don't see the platform as dead to build all kinds of interesting things, mostly starring Raspberry Pi series SBCs. So why are the likes of Dell and Asus shying away from building Windows laptops around ARM chips? Why keep what's supposedly a promising platform limited to a couple of detachables?

A few reasons come to mind, software compatibility being one of the more noteworthy ones. Most Windows apps are built with the x86 architecture in mind, meaning there is no way to run them on an ARM chip without employing some kind of emulation (read, without noticeable slowdowns). While Mozilla was quick to announce that it would start releasing dedicated Firefox builds compiled specifically for Windows on ARM, and several other notable software developers followed suit - say, the Paint.NET image editor runs natively on ARM chips - most companies could not care less about Microsoft's attempts to break away from its perennial dependence on x86.

Game studios in particular appear to be completely ignoring Windows on ARM, and they have a valid reason for that, too. GPUs built into most ARM chips are anything but impressive, lagging far behind proper graphics cards such as the GeForce RTX 4060 (Laptop). To this, laptop makers can say that putting powerful graphics adapters into Windows on ARM laptops would make those laptops much, much costlier, and with virtually no games that are guaranteed to run well on such a system, no one in their right mind would buy one. This is a loop of misery that has no end.

While Apple shows no intention of reconsidering its switch from x86 to ARM, it looks like Microsoft might eventually be forced to bid farewell to Windows on ARM as doing that would allow the tech giant to give more love to its core products and its core audience. For now, it is way too early to claim that Windows on ARM will be discontinued (just like Windows RT was discontinued several years ago). But for the project to succeed, companies such as Qualcomm really need to step it up in terms of the integrated graphics, and Microsoft really needs to get software developers onboard. The Snapdragon X Elite may or may not prove to be a game-changer; but right now, what we have is a case of "all talk, no walk".