Microsoft’s Windows 10 on ARM project has so far received mixed reviews. While the first Always Connected PCs with Windows 10 on ARM have already been launched, the software giant has failed to provide for support for 64-bit apps. Microsoft announced the Windows 10 on ARM project in late 2016 and it has gained a lot of exposure after the launch of Always Connected PCs.
Microsoft is finally preparing a solution to deal with one of the major drawbacks in Windows 10 on ARM. Microsoft plans to launch an SDK for ARM64 apps at the upcoming Build developer conference in May. While this doesn’t make any difference at the moment, it shows that Microsoft is making no compromises with Windows 10 on ARM.
Microsoft is ready to move one step closer to enabling 64-bit apps in Windows 10 ARM platform. The SDK will allow developers to recompile apps to run in 64-bit on ARM-based Windows 10 PCs and this would improve the performance without affecting the battery life of the hardware.
This doesn’t mean that the Always-Connected PCs will be updated to support 64-bit apps soon but it does confirm that Microsoft is looking into ways to improve architecture support for Windows 10 on ARM. Lack of 64-bit apps is undoubtedly a deal-breaker for some users.
Most of the legacy programs (desktop apps) offer 32-bit support but there are some apps where 32-bit system is not supported. Microsoft could try to address this with future Windows 10 releases but the company is silent on when this could happen.
While the Windows 10 on ARM performance is still questionable, it offers stunning battery life that could even reach one week per charge. Microsoft’s partners are working on new Windows 10 ARM-powered PCs and Laptops that could see daylight in the coming months. The upcoming Always Connected PCs will be powered by new Qualcomm’ Snapdragon 845 processor and this is projected to happen in late 2018.
