Windows on ARM Is Getting Better x86 Emulation



Microsoft has released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 27744 to the Canary Channel. This build introduces a new feature update to Prism, which will let more 64-bit x86 applications run under emulation.




The update adds several x86 CPU instructions to the x86 emulator in Windows on ARM, including AVX and AVX2, BMI, FMA, F16C, and others. The new CPU feature support in Prism is already being used in the retail version of Windows 11, version 24H2, to run Adobe Premiere Pro 25 on ARM. This build expands this support to any x64 application under emulation, but not older 32-bit only x86 applications. 32-bit apps or 64-bit apps that use a 32-bit helper to detect CPU feature support will not be able to detect the new features in Prism.

The update also comes with other changes and improvements. For example, the Gamepad keyboard layout for the on-screen keyboard will be added back during the rollout after being removed in the last update. This likely, means that Microsoft was able to fix the issues that came from the Gamepad. There are plenty of other minor details in this Insider build, but the main addition was improving emulation. Hopefully, that will roll out to all ARM Windows PCs soon.


Most PC applications are still written for PCs with x86 processors, so many applications and games have to be emulated on Windows PCs with ARM chips. That comes at the cost of performance and occasional compatibility issues. Microsoft has been pushing app developers to create ARM-native software, but the emulator will remain an important component of ARM Windows for years to come. It’s great to see Microsoft is still improving it, but if you need perfect compatibility with all PC software, you’ll still need a computer with an x86 Intel or AMD processor.

Source: Windows





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