Last week there were plenty of device announcements from various vendors featuring Qualcomm's latest ARM Snapdragon X Elite chip. The devices will run the Windows 11 on ARM operating system. Being labeled Copilot+ PCs, they boast impressive battery life and a range of unique features powered by artificial intelligence.
The ARM64 platform is getting more and more support from software developers. Popular apps like Google Chrome, Spotify, Zoom, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Blender, and DaVinci Resolve have already been optimized, with Adobe committed to bringing all its products, including Premiere Pro, to ARM.
While most apps will be optimized for ARM, there will always be some programs that require emulation to run. Usually it is older applications or new software without a native ARM version, resulting in lower performance compared to native apps.
The upcoming Windows 11 version 24H2 will introduce the new Prism emulator, optimized for the latest Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus processors. It is said that applications running in emulation mode on the Snapdragon X Elite will see a performance boost twice as fast as the previous generation of Windows on ARM, with older devices expected to see a 10-20% improvement.
Microsoft reports that ARM-optimized apps make up 87% of total usage on ARM devices, with the remaining 13% coming from emulated applications. These statistics are based on data from non-gaming app usage on laptops and 2-in-1 devices running Windows 10 and Windows 11 in April 2024.
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