Author: Chris Hoffman / Source: howtogeek.com
Microsoft is launching new “Always Connected PCs” that pair Windows with smartphone-class ARM processors. These devices can run traditional Windows desktop apps and offer long battery life with cellular connectivity, but they’re just too expensive and limited.
Future Windows on ARM devices will likely have better performance at a lower price and be much more compelling. But, as usual when it comes to technology, we recommend you skip the first-generation products.
What is Windows on ARM?
Windows on ARM is a full Windows 10 operating system running on on ARM CPU rather than a typical 32-bit x86 or 64-bit x64 CPU. ARM CPUs are generally found in smartphones and mobile devices like iPads. Typical PCs include processors from Intel or AMD.
The ARM hardware platform gives Windows on ARM a few advantages. ARM CPUs use less power, so you should get longer battery life. They offer true “instant on” resuming so you can immediately wake up the PC and resume where you left off, like waking your phone. They run silently with no fans. And they include cellular connectivity, so you can add one of these devices to your cell phone plan—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon all support these devices in the USA—and have Internet access everywhere. (Or everywhere you have cellular connectivity, at least.)
All three first-generation Windows on ARM devices use a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, which is the same processor used in the Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Google Pixel 2, Google Pixel XL, and many other 2017-era Android smartphones. New phones like the Samsung Galaxy S9 are already shipping with faster ARM CPUs. This is also why they’re being called “Windows on Snapdragon” devices.
Windows on ARM is Full Windows, Unlike Windows RT
In the Windows 8 days, Microsoft released Windows RT, which ran on ARM hardware and forced you to install software from the Windows Store. But Windows 10 on ARM is much more powerful. It’s a full version of Windows that lets you install software from anywhere, if you like. Developers can compile their desktop applications for ARM and you can install them. It even includes an emulation layer that lets you run traditional Windows desktop apps that were written for 32-bit Intel x86 CPUs.
These Windows on ARM devices do ship with Windows S Mode enabled, which means they can only install software from the Store by default. But you can change that with the flick of a switch, and it’s free. Afterwards, it’s like using a typical Windows laptop and you can get software from anywhere. This is a huge improvement from Windows RT, and means these devices should have a much brighter future ahead of them.
We just don’t think that future fully arrives with the first generation of products.
The Emulation Layer is Limited and Slow
The emulation layer that lets you run traditional desktop applications, also known as Win32 applications, works. However, it has some performance problems. And including those older ARM CPUs in these devices…
The post Windows on ARM Doesn’t Make Any Sense (Yet) appeared first on FeedBox.