Microsoft Teams goes native ARM, gets significant performance bump on select PCs

What you need to know

• An ARM version of Microsoft Teams is now available.
• The ARM version of Teams will run better on devices like the Surface Pro X.
• Previously, Microsoft Teams ran in emulation on ARM devices.

Microsoft launched a new native ARM64 version of Microsoft Teams this week. The ARM version of Teams will significantly improve performance on devices like the Surface Pro X in comparison to the previous version that runs through emulation. Microsoft senior PM Bill Weidenborner shared the news on LinkedIn recently.

The previous version of Microsoft Teams is a 32-bit app that runs in emulation. As a result, performance isn't as good as that of native ARM64 applications. Several people on Reddit state that the new ARM64 version is more stable and responsive than the 32-bit version.

Windows 10 on ARM PCs, including Microsoft's own Surface Pro X, can run 32-bit applications through emulation and will be able to run 64-bit apps through emulation in the future. But native applications will deliver the best performance and responsiveness.

The native ARM64 version of Microsoft Teams appears to have rolled out without much fanfare. We can confirm that downloading Teams through Microsoft's website right now gets you the 64-bit version of the app if you're on a Windows 10 on ARM PC.