From Devices to Developers - the Windows on Arm Timeline
Chapter 2
The origins of the modern Windows on Arm laptop devices started in 2017, with the launch of Windows 10 on Arm which was built on 64-bit Arm architecture (Armv8-A Aarch64). This led to the launch of the first Windows 10 on Arm laptops, including HP Envy x2, Asus NovaGo, and Lenovo Miix 630. This was closely followed by the second-generation Windows 10 on Arm laptops in 2018, which offered advanced 5G connectivity support.
In 2019, the launch of the Microsoft Surface Pro X, built on the Arm-based SQ1 SoC signalled the start of the third generation of Windows 10 on laptops. This was followed by more third-generation laptop devices being launched in 2020, including the Lenovo Yoga 5G and Samsung Galaxy Book S.
Later in 2020, Microsoft launched Windows 11 on Arm. This was closely followed by the updated Microsoft Surface Pro X, built on the Arm-based SQ2 custom SoC, which was the first Windows 11 on Arm laptop device. More first-generation Windows 11 on Arm laptops were launched in 2021, including HP Elite Folio and Acer Spin 7.
From a developer perspective, Windows on Arm made great strides in 2021 by adding Arm64EC ABI to Windows 11 on Arm. This allowed developers to port their x86 applications incrementally, with Arm64EC-built code running with native performance and also interoperable with x86 code running under emulation within the same process.
2022 saw the launch of second-generation Windows 11 on Arm laptops, including the Lenovo ThinkPad X13s and Microsoft Surface Pro 9. Momentum across the Windows developer ecosystem also continued, with Microsoft launching the ‘Windows Dev Kit 2023.’ This allows developers to bring their entire application development process onto one dedicated, compact device for building, deploying, and testing before rollout.
Windows on Arm is now in a state of readiness, not just with the exceptional hardware but across tools and frameworks. Today, there are a broad range of Windows on Arm tools and frameworks that are ready for developers to use.
In 2023, Microsoft announced the rollout of their complete Arm-native development toolchain, including Visual Studio 2022, Visual Studio Code, Visual C++, Windows Subsystem for Linux, .NET, and many more. Moreover, cloud-hosted continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) was available for Windows on Arm for the first time through the Azure Arm Virtual Machines service and Arm containers via Azure Kubernetes Services, which enabled open-source projects, such as Python and Node.JS, to target Windows on Arm natively.
Build 2023, Microsoft’s premiere annual developer event, had a flurry of Windows on Arm announcements. Several of the world’s most widely used applications committed to native Windows on Arm development, including Dropbox, GoodNotes, WhatsApp, and Reincubate (the makers of Camo).
Unity, makers of a world-leading game engine, made a native Arm version of the Unity player available to game developers, providing improved native performance for gaming titles targeting Windows on Arm laptop devices.
Our Windows on Arm timeline from 2017 to present day shows the continuous advances that have been made across different generations of devices and also within the ecosystem. The result is a significant uplift in performance that is outpacing rivals.
