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Windows Central

Technology

Sean Endicott

The death of x86 may be "severely exaggerated," but these native Arm apps are here to threaten Intel and AMD

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Microsoft Surface Pro 11 with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite.

What you need to know

Several popular apps were optimized for Windows on Arm recently.
NordVPN, Arc browser, Foxit PDF Editor, and Notion now all run natively on Windows on Arm devices.
While Windows 11 on Arm PCs can run many apps through emulation, native apps have better performance and efficiency.

Reports of x86's death may be "severely exaggerated," according to Intel's CEO, but Arm computing continues to put pressure on its rivals. The first wave of AI PCs is full of laptops running Arm chips, and any Windows on Arm device just got a big boost. Thanks to several developers optimizing their apps for Windows 11 on Arm, PCs with Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus processors now have a larger library of applications that can take advantage of Qualcomm's latest chips.

Many of the best AI PCs and best Copilot+ PCs run on Arm chips, making native Arm applications important for getting the best experience. While you can run many apps through emulation, native Arm apps will get better performance and use less power to run. After years of pushing from Microsoft and Qualcomm, developers now appear eager to optimize their apps for Arm. In just the last month, Arm-native versions of NordVPN, Arc Browser, Notion, and Foxit shipped.

"We’re proud to be among the first VPN providers to offer a chance to shield your ARM-based Windows devices from online threats," said NordVPN. "This autumn, we are releasing a NordVPN app version that supports ARM architecture on Windows."

Foxit, which is one of the best PDF editors, shared similar thoughts when announcing its native Arm application.

"We are excited to announce that we are bringing our industry-leading PDF solutions to the industry’s foremost PCs powered by Snapdragon," said Foxit Executive Vice President of Sales Andrew Travis. “Foxit’s commitment to native support on the Snapdragon platform enables us to deliver significant improvements, including faster rendering and processing of content, leading to greatly enhanced productivity and an unrivaled user experience."

The recent additions to the Windows on Arm app library build on an impressive year for Arm computing. It appears Microsoft and Qualcomm have finally built an Arm platform developers consider worth investing time into.

Windows 11 on Arm app compatibility

Arc browser is one of many apps that now have native Arm versions, promising better performance and efficiency than emulated apps. (Image credit: Windows Central)

Microsoft, Qualcomm, and app developers have worked on getting programs to run well on Arm devices for quite a while. It's taken years to get big-name app makers on board, but we're finally at a place where many popular apps run on Arm natively. The list of the best native Windows on Arm apps includes browsers such as Chrome, popular streaming apps, productivity tools like Office, and several apps for creators. Some well-known apps, however, still have to run through emulation.

Emulation provides a bridge between x86 and Arm. In many cases, an app that has not been optimized for Windows on Arm can still run through emulation. Native Arm applications will have better performance and efficiency than emulated apps, but app emulation on Windows 11 is solid. Microsoft's Prism emulation tech improved emulation performance dramatically.

In some cases, apps cannot run through emulation at all. That's why we haven't seen many VPNs work on Windows on Arm PCs until recently. Other apps work fine through emulation, but they'll provide a better experience when running natively.

Many popular apps in 2024 are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), making the importance of native Arm code less important (assuming you're using an Arm browser). But there are still plenty of applications that are much better when made into native Arm apps.

NordVPN, Arc browser, Foxit PDF Editor, and Notion are welcome additions to the growing library of native Arm applications, especially to those using one of the best Windows on Arm laptops.