Microsoft’s Latest Windows 10 Win Comes From An Unlikely Source... Apple
With the launch of the M1 processor and the inclusion of the ARM-based silicon into the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, Apple has achieved more than set up the Mac for a new germination. It’s helped Microsoft join it. The Surface Pro X saw its processor updated this year, and Windows 10 on ARM can expect to get a significant boost thanks to Apple’s decisions. First up, and perhaps the biggest influence on the Pro X’s reputation, is the lack not just of killer apps, but the keystone apps used by many. So many of the Surface Pro X reviews included a list of apps that the reviewer believed were key that would either not run natively on Microsoft’s ARM platform, or would only run under emulation with the associated impact on performance and battery life. And yes, I’m looking at everyone who wanted Photoshop. Although Adobe was on stage at the launch of the Pro X in 2019, it took until November 2020 for any of the creative cloud apps to debut as ARM native apps. That Photoshop appeared in beta for both the macOS and Windows 10 ARM platforms just a few days after the first ARM-based MacBooks were launched will have been noticed by many. Compared to the rest of Windows 10, the footprint of the ARM devices such as the Surface Pro X is tiny. Contrast that to Apple’s ‘all-in’ move, which will see every new Mac running on the ARM-based family that is being marketed as ‘Apple Silicon’. Working with the former could be seen as a passion project, working with the latter is a necessity. And that significant push from Apple will, like a line of dominos, support Windows 10 on ARM as well. I’m intrigued to see what Google’s next move will be. With so many of its services reliant on Chrome, it is in its interest to have Chrome available for as many platforms as possible. Right now there are no native ARM builds for macOS or Windows 10