Microsoft Ditches x64 App Emulation for Win 10/Arm - must go to Win 11

[donawalt]

If you want to run x64 Windows apps on Windows ARM, it's either Windows 11 or nothing...

Microsoft Ditches x64 App Emulation for Windows 10 on Arm

You'll need Windows 11.

www.tomshardware.com

 

[smirking]

So is this good news or bad news for those of us who are awaiting word on official support for Windows on ARM via Parallels?

 

[Tagbert]

Wow, MS is really playing hardball on getting people to upgrade to 11

 

[donawalt]

IMHO it's good news:

1. Microsoft is quoted as saying "“x64 emulation for Windows is now generally available in Windows 11,” said Microsoft in a blog post"
2. Parallels Desktop 17 supports vTPM on Intel and M1, and in all Parallels Desktop 17 editions
3. Parallels even gives full instructions and video how to do it - https://www.parallels.com/blogs/Windows-11-TPM/

So it sure seems everyone is on the same page...

 

[thejadedmonkey]

That's not a surprise. It's never been released for Windows 10, and now that they're focusing on Windows 11, it makes sense.

 

[bobcomer]

So is this good news or bad news for those of us who are awaiting word on official support for Windows on ARM via Parallels?

Bad news. It means they really aren't worried about supporting WoA on anything not under their control.

That said, Windows 11 runs just fine in parallels. (insider builds, of course) I would also note that Windows 10 on Arm will still have x86 (32-bit) emulation. It's almost odd that they would get rid of X64 emulation. I wonder if Windows 11 does it in a different way than 10...

 

[bobcomer]

That's not a surprise. It's never been released for Windows 10, and now that they're focusing on Windows 11, it makes sense.

Good point! X64 on Windows 10 on Arm was only a insider build product. That makes perfect sense now.

 

[donawalt]

Bad news. It means they really aren't worried about supporting WoA on anything not under their control.

That said, Windows 11 runs just fine in parallels. (insider builds, of course) I would also note that Windows 10 on Arm will still have x86 (32-bit) emulation. It's almost odd that they would get rid of X64 emulation. I wonder if Windows 11 does it in a different way than 10...

- What's the source for "not worried about WoA on anything not under their control? That's not what Microsoft has said - they just said it's on Win 11 not 10, and even WoA minus x64 is "Supported" (MS says this explicitly) until 10/14/2025. The quote by Paul Thurott: “x64 emulation for Windows is now generally available in Windows 11,” said Microsoft in a blog post first noticed by Paul Thurrott. “For those interested in experiencing this, a PC running Windows 11 on Arm is required.” Generally available means supported. In the same Thurrott post quoting a MS spokesperson, "Microsoft is committed to supporting customers on Windows 10 on Arm through October 14, 2025.”

- Additionally, MS looks to Qualcomm for their ARM solutions, and Qualcomm just said today that ARM is the future for PCs - you know they wouldn't say that if MS was leaving them out to dry.

- You no longer need Insider builds to get Win 11 running. Parallels has compete instructions.

 

[bobcomer]

- What's the source for "not worried about WoA on anything not under their control? That's not what Microsoft has said - they just said it's on Win 11 not 10, and even WoA minus x64 is "Supported" (MS says this explicitly) until 10/14/2025.

Purely my opinion based on what they have done so far and the EULA.

- Additionally, MS looks to Qualcomm for their ARM solutions, and Qualcomm just said today that ARM is the future for PCs - you know they wouldn't say that if MS was leaving them out to dry.

You're reading more into what I said than I meant. As for QUALCOMM saying that, they would say that, wouldn't they, it's in their best interests to push the idea...

Qualcomm is getting better at processors to, but future of the PC -- that's a stretch. I have an 888 processor based phone, runs cool and at a decent speed. It is nowhere near a PC level processor though! (runs cooler and holds speed better than the iphone 11 PM)

 

[bobcomer]

- You no longer need Insider builds to get Win 11 running. Parallels has compete instructions.

I haven't read the EULA for W11 on Arm, so I don't know for sure, but if it hasn't changed, there's no way I'd run it without it being an insider build! Not to mention you wouldn't get the most recent version.

 

[donawalt]

Qualcomm is getting better at processors to, but future of the PC -- that's a stretch. I have an 888 processor based phone, runs cool and at a decent speed. It is nowhere near a PC level processor though! (runs cooler and holds speed better than the iphone 11 PM)

The Qualcomm article I linked is revealing - this is the key part, agreeing with what you said the status is now, but that it will change (they hope) - "Up until now, Qualcomm essentially offered beefed up versions of its smartphone-oriented Snapdragon SoCs to PC makers. That's a viable strategy to address a specific segment of the market, but it's not good enough to compete against products from Apple, AMD, and Intel. With its next-generation Snapdragon for PCs, the company will offer SoCs designed specifically for PCs from the ground up. Qualcomm said the custom Nuvia CPU cores will be tailored for personal computer workloads and the Adreno GPU will be scaled to the level of standalone graphics processing units."

I haven't read the EULA for W11 on Arm, so I don't know for sure, but if it hasn't changed, there's no way I'd run it without it being an insider build! Not to mention you wouldn't get the most recent version.

In the Parallels article it shows it being the latest released version...?!

 

[bobcomer]

In the Parallels article it shows it being the latest released version...?!

Insiders builds are always ahead of released builds, and with WoA, it's even more evident. Of course you have to update WAY more frequently!!

 

[Bandaman]

Been on Windows 11 ARM for quite a while now in Parallels on my M1 Air. Works great.

 

[donawalt]

Insiders builds are always ahead of released builds, and with WoA, it's even more evident. Of course you have to update WAY more frequently!!

I haven't tried it yet as my ARM Mac should arrive this week!, but I assume like with Windows 10 where I am on the Insider build, once I am set up with a Windows 11 ARM VM under Parallels, I can turn on Insider build and start getting beta builds...?

 

[pshufd]

MSFT is doing a lot of stuff to push you to W11 while making it complicated to do the same short of buying a new system. The stuff with disabling EdgeDeflector is also disturbing.

 

[cmaier]

- Additionally, MS looks to Qualcomm for their ARM solutions, and Qualcomm just said today that ARM is the future for PCs - you know they wouldn't say that if MS was leaving them out to dry.

Sure they would. They don’t sell x86 processors, so all they can do is pump up the architecture they do support, and hope that MS decides to play along.

 

[bobcomer]

I haven't tried it yet as my ARM Mac should arrive this week!, but I assume like with Windows 10 where I am on the Insider build, once I am set up with a Windows 11 ARM VM under Parallels, I can turn on Insider build and start getting beta builds...?

Yep!

 

[ADGrant]

In the Parallels article it shows it being the latest released version...?!

Yes, it appears to be the released version. Technically it is still possible to buy a retail license to run it in Parallels on an M1 Mac. This should only be an issue if you need technical support.