Windows 10 on ARM chips may soon support 64-bit x86 applications

According to a new code posted to GitHub recently, Microsoft seems to be preparing to support 64-bit x86 application emulation on the platform.

The code above has the following description: “Add linker support for x64 code emulation on ARM64”, posted by Kenny Kerr, a software engineer in Microsoft’s Windows development team.

As you know, Windows 10 on ARM is now a 64-bit ARM platform (initially 32-bit) but still only runs 32-bit x86 software code through emulation. The above change will fundamentally expand the platform’s ability to support both 64-bit x86 software – also known as x64 software – to make the platform more robust and widely applicable. than.

Windows 10 on ARM has always had a lot of problems, and the platform itself up to now is primarily an experiment. For users, using Windows 10 on ARM is a frustrating experience because so many things do not work as they expect. The system performance is simply too bad, not to mention compatibility issues, not only for 64-bit x86 applications but also for x86 drivers.

Microsoft and Qualcomm have solved some performance issues by improving chipsets used to run Windows 10 on ARM devices. But software issues are still a challenge, and supporting 64-bit x86 applications – though useful – may not be enough to solve the driver problem.

Even so, this is still a remarkable step forward. Microsoft has always been planning to support 64-bit x86 applications – some sources have mentioned this since February 2018. But the code posted on GitHub above is the most concrete evidence that this will be done right this year.

Whether Microsoft has a priority to develop Windows 10 on ARM, we don’t know: Intel and AMD-based computers are 100% compatible with x86 / x64 software and drivers, and many modern computers today have Battery life is very good, on par with what Microsoft promises on ARM. Therefore Microsoft will have to find a reason to explain if it wants to prioritize Windows 10 on ARM in the future.

References: Thurrott