Microsoft shows off Windows 10 on ARM in action

Myerson Windows 10
Myerson Windows 10 (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

In a pre-recorded video released for Build 2017, Microsoft has demoed Windows 10 on ARM. Over the video's 13 minutes, Microsoft employees Hari Pulapaka and Arun Kishan go through different aspects of Windows 10 on ARM, demonstrating it will be able to do the same things and run the same apps you're used to on Windows 10 now. Check out the demo below:

What's particularly interesting throughout the demo is that Windows 10 on ARM is shown not only running Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps natively but standard x86 Win32 applications as well, via an emulation layer. Essentially, you get the same full desktop experience from Windows 10, only running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 processor. If you're up for diving into the development weeds, the video also gives us a deep dive into how its x86 Win32 emulation works.

We also get a look at the ARM device powering the demo, but there's not much to see; it's simply a black box meant for engineering purposes. Once Windows 10 on ARM devices start shipping, they'll be as 2-in-1s, laptops and more. According to recent word from Qualcomm, we should expect to get our first look at Windows 10 on ARM PCs in Q4 of this year.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl