If you're looking to upgrade to a next-generation Windows laptop, good news – there's no need to compromise on privacy.
One of the best VPN services has unveiled an ARM-native Windows VPN app. This is crucial in order to use your VPN software on devices powered by the super-fast Snapdragon X Elite chip.
Private Internet Access (PIA) is now one of very few providers offering an ARM-native app for Windows, while more services are expected to join the list in the coming weeks.
PIA's ARM support "up to parity"
"We have been working hard to bring all of PIA’s functionality across to this new hardware, and are thrilled that our users can again enjoy the full power of the PIA platform," said Himmat Bains, Head of Product at PIA.
Windows users have long awaited this moment – Apple first revealed its ARM-based M1 processor back in 2020, in fact – seeing as Snapdragon PCs came with serious limitations in VPN compatibility. This is why, months after the launch, most VPN apps still aren't ready.
This is mainly because this type of operating system doesn't allow emulation. Put simply, VPN providers must rebuild their software natively from scratch for ARM.
Besides lamenting delays in driver certificate signing from Microsoft, Bains told me that code framework dependencies were the biggest technical hurdle to overcome. "Before getting to this point, a number of interdependent factors needed attention," he added.
PIA VPN for ARM (beta) release from r/PrivateInternetAccess
It's worth noting that PIA already offers ARM-native VPN applications for Linux and macOS devices. "This Windows ARM launch brings our Windows platform up to parity," Bains told me.
Miguel Galindo, Senior Software Engineer at PIA, also explained that more work will be needed to streamline PIA functionality as new ARM applications are released. Nonetheless, "these new ARM laptops present an exciting opportunity to bring competition back into personal computing," he said.
PIA is now the latest big name in the industry offering Windows ARM users a way to protect themselves when browsing the web.
Windscribe and Surfshark also have ARM-native Windows VPN apps, at the time of writing, with the likes of NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and ProtonVPN currently working on their version.
