Can Windows 11 Run on ARM?

How Does Performance Compare Between ARM and x86 Devices?

ARM devices prioritize battery life (18–20 hours) over raw performance. Geekbench 5 scores show Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 trailing Intel i5-1235U by 30% in multi-core tasks. Emulated x86 apps run 15–20% slower than native. However, ARM excels in always-connected scenarios, with 40% faster app resume times and 5G/LTE integration for background updates.

Can Mini PCs Handle Video Editing and Graphic Design? A Comprehensive Review

Recent benchmark comparisons reveal nuanced advantages. While x86 chips dominate in sustained workloads like video encoding, ARM devices demonstrate superior efficiency in everyday tasks. For example, the Surface Pro 9 with SQ3 processor completes 20 Chrome tab switches 22% faster than comparable Intel Evo laptops. The efficiency core architecture allows ARM devices to maintain responsiveness during multitasking without thermal throttling – a common issue in fanless x86 ultrabooks.

Gaming performance remains a notable gap. The Adreno GPU in Snapdragon chips delivers only 45 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 at 1080p low settings, compared to 90+ FPS on Intel Iris Xe. However, ARM’s unified memory architecture reduces texture loading times by 15% in emulated DX11 games. Microsoft’s DirectSR upscaling technology (coming in late 2025) promises to bridge this gap through AI-enhanced frame generation specifically optimized for ARM NPUs.

Metric	Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3	Intel Core i5-1235U
Battery Life (Video Playback)	19h 42m	10h 15m
Cinebench R23 Multi-Core	4,850	7,100
App Resume Speed	0.8s	1.4s

What Future Developments Are Expected for Windows 11 on ARM?

Microsoft plans to unify Win32 and ARM64 app ecosystems via Project Volterra. Snapdragon X Elite chips (2025) promise 50% faster NPUs for AI tasks. Rumors suggest x86-to-ARM binary translation improvements and native Docker support. Windows 11 24H2 may introduce ARM64 version of WSL2 with GPU passthrough for machine learning workflows.

The 2025 roadmap includes three critical advancements. First, the Snapdragon X Elite’s Oryon CPU cores are projected to match Apple M2 performance in single-threaded tasks while consuming 30% less power. Second, Microsoft’s Prism emulation layer will reduce x86/64 app overhead from 20% to under 10% through dynamic binary optimization. Third, native ARM64 builds of Visual Studio and .NET MAUI will streamline cross-platform development.

Enterprise features are also evolving. The Windows 11 24H2 update will introduce TPM-based app sandboxing for ARM devices, enabling secure execution of legacy x86 line-of-business software. Microsoft is collaborating with Parallels to bring ARM-optimized virtualization for Linux environments, addressing a longstanding limitation. These changes position ARM devices as viable replacements for 60% of corporate laptops by 2025.

FAQ

Q: Can I install Windows 11 on a Raspberry Pi?

A: No. Raspberry Pi uses ARMv8-A chips, which lack UEFI and TPM 2.0 support required for Windows 11.

Q: Does Adobe Photoshop run on Windows 11 ARM?

A: Yes, but only the x86 version via emulation. The ARM-native version is limited to macOS.

Q: Can I dual-boot Linux on a Windows 11 ARM device?

A: Rarely. Most ARM devices lock bootloaders. Surface Pro 9 allows Ubuntu via UEFI, but drivers for cellular modems are unsupported.

“ARM’s efficiency is reshaping Windows devices. The Snapdragon X Elite will close the performance gap with x86, while AI accelerators enable real-time translation and context-aware workflows. By 2025, 30% of enterprise laptops will be ARM-based, driven by security and battery life demands.” – Qualcomm Engineer