ARM64 support arrives for Spotify in the latest beta for Windows 10 and 11

News
By Daniel Rubino
published

For those running Windows on ARM, a native version of Spotify beta is now available.

Spotify beta for Windows on ARM
Surface Pro X SQ2 running the new Spotify (beta) compiled for ARM64. (Image credit: Daniel Rubino)
  • Spotify has a new beta version of its desktop app compiled for ARM64/Windows on ARM.
  • The current beta is 1.1.86.857 and is available via the Spotify forums.
  • There is only one known issue with the beta related to some video Podcast episodes.

Windows on ARM is seemingly having a good year, at least for improved support. Microsoft just announced a new "Project Volterra" dev kit for ARM, and now Spotify is getting on board with a natively compiled version of its desktop app for ARM64 Windows laptops like the 2021 HP Elite Folio.

The announcement for the release came via Spotify’s community forums (spotted by @sinclairinat0r and reddit), which is also where users can download the .exe installation file. 

Version 1.1.86.857 is the latest compiled for Windows on ARM and looks just like the desktop client except now with much faster performance for startup and load times.

According to Spotify, there is currently only one known bug with the release: “Some video Podcast episodes can’t be played, and trying to do so results in an error message about updating the Spotify client version.”

While that bug may sound like a deal-breaker, Spotify notes you can work around it for now by simply going to “the Share option in the menu, copy the Web link and paste it in your browser to then watch it there in the web player instead.”

Spotify notes it’s looking for feedback on the release on what works and what doesn’t so it can continue to improve the final version, which is likely to be finished in the coming months.

In our quick hands-on with the ARM64 version, performance is night and day, with the newly compiled app launching nearly instantly and without lag.

Lenovo is expected to release its new ThinkPad X13s, its first ARM-based ThinkPad, in the coming weeks. That laptop is the first to feature Qualcomm’s latest 8cx Gen 3 processor, which should perform faster than an Intel 10th Gen Core i5 for single-core performance, but ahead of the 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 for multi-core. Likewise, Microsoft is expected to release a third-gen Surface Pro X later this fall, with a similar processor and a new 120Hz display, and possibly 5G.

Daniel Rubino
Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.