Windows on Arm runs more apps and games with new Prism update
Today, Windows on Arm devices, such as those powered by the Snapdragon X series processors, are getting a boost thanks to an update to Prism that increases performance and enables running more apps and games under emulation. The Prism emulator is a core part of the Windows on Arm platform, ensuring that Windows apps are able to run seamlessly on Windows on Arm even if they were built for traditional x86 processors and have not been updated to run natively on Arm. Prism works by transparently converting an app's x86 instructions to Arm64 code as the app runs. With today's update, Prism expands its capability by supporting translation of more x86 instruction set architecture extensions, including AVX and AVX2, as well as related extensions BMI, FMA, F16C, and others. These extensions are not guaranteed to be supported by a processor when running Windows, but they are common enough for some apps to depend on their availability. They are especially relied on by creative tools and games that benefit from the efficient parallel processing that these CPU instructions provide. coreinfo64. With support for these additional processor features, Prism can now run a number of apps and games that were previously unable to work on Windows on Arm. One example is Ableton Live, which will be coming to Windows on Arm as a native app next year. Attempting to install Ableton Live 12 as an emulated app prior to this update would fail with a system requirements error because it requires AVX support. After the Prism update, the app installs and runs without issue. This Prism update has now rolled out to all Windows on Arm devices running Windows 11, version 24H2 or later. All 64-bit x86 apps will have the updated CPU feature support enabled by default. Any 32-bit apps will have it off by default but can be opted in using compatibility settings. For more information about Windows on Arm, you can view our docs at Windows on Arm documentation on Microsoft Learn. We are committed to continuing to enhance Prism emulation in Windows and are excited about the additional apps and games that will be able to run seamlessly on Windows on Arm with today's update.
Unable to access Windows Insider Preview Downloads on MacOS
I am trying to download Windows 11 ARM Insider Preview so I can VM it with VMware Fusion on a Macbook Pro 14 2021 to update a Dell monitor's firmware. I am registered as an Insider which I did prior to relocating to a new country, however I no longer have a Windows PC and cannot proceed to download the Windows 11 ARM ISO officially. Has anybody encountered this issue and have any solutions? Here's a couple of screenshots of what I see: Cheers, Michael
First-ever App Assure AMA on March 16 at 9am PST
I'm excited to share that our team is hosting our first Ask Microsoft Anything on March 16 from 9 - 10am PST. We'll have subject matter experts from our WDG, Win Dev, and Office teams available to answer all things app compat. Please find the details here: Announcing a Microsoft App Assure AMA! - Microsoft Tech Community. Curious about what is App Assure? Wonder if what you're experiencing in an app compat issue? Have a question about how to get help from App Assure? We have an answer for you! We look forward to seeing you there with your questions! ~Michelle
Should arm based surface devices use nvidia processors instead?
This might sound wired. But when I saw the Nintendo switch using a custom tegra based processor that can run mid resource intensive games while giving about 5 hours of battery life out of just a 16 whr battery, it surprised me. I kept searching nvidia’s website and found out that the tegra x1 on shield to is very powerful yet efficient. Although 10 watts may seem a lot, but it’s 20nm compared to today’s 5nm. Nvidia markets them as mobile processors, and scaling it down to 5nm means a lot of efficiency for the same performance, which should even give some headroom for to increase the power by a little margin to get some more performance. I know that the processor has older cpu and gpu but it can be simply made up by using today’s new RTX and arm counterparts.
