Windows on Arm just hit 7,000 compatible apps. It’s still not enough | usagoldmines.com

In an official Windows blog post, Microsoft just announced a new milestone: over 7,000 apps and games are now optimized and available for the Arm version of Windows.

Windows on Arm is a version of the operating system that’s designed specifically to run on Arm-based chips. Whereas traditional Windows PCs run on x86 and x64 chips by Intel and AMD, modern Windows on Arm are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips. Other chipmakers are also developing their own Arm-based options, including Nvidia with its RTX Spark system-on-a-chip.

Why is Windows on Arm such a big deal? Because Arm chips are significantly more energy-efficient, meaning much longer battery life while drawing less power, generating less heat, and running much more quietly. But the biggest hurdle for Arm-based systems has always been compatibility. Most apps are designed for x86/x64 systems and can’t run properly on Arm-based systems, and many hardware accessories don’t have Arm-compatible drivers.

That’s why this announcement is worth celebrating. As the number of Arm-compatible apps and games increases, the arguments against Windows on Arm dwindle away. And when critical mass is reached, we’ll reach a point where we can harness all the benefits of Arm-based architecture with little or none of the downsides getting in the way.

The blog post points to Works on Windows on Arm, a site that catalogs all the different apps and games that are Arm-compatible. Among the 7,000+ apps and games that now work with Windows on Arm, you’ll find high-profile apps like 1Password, Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom, Blender, Davinci Resolve, Firefox, GIMP, Libre Office, Signal, Spotify, VLC, and more.

The aim of Microsoft’s milestone announcement is to promote the fall launch of Arm-based computers from Microsoft, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and MSI. It’s an important milestone, but it’s also good to keep in mind that 7,000+ apps and games are still just a drop in the ocean compared to the number of apps available for Windows x86/x64.

For apps and games that aren’t natively Arm-compatible, there’s also emulation via Prism, which is Microsoft’s built-in emulation layer on Windows 11 that makes x86/x64 apps runnable on Arm. Note that this emulation process isn’t as good as native support, so software will use more power and won’t perform as well—a significant loss in battery life, which is the whole selling point of Arm.

And it still leaves gamers in a bind. Back in 2024, we advised against getting a Snapdragon laptop for gaming. Not much has changed since then, with the newer Snapdragon X2 still lacking smooth support. Maybe we’ll see a lot more progress on this front if Nvidia’s RTX Spark can make a big splash, but until then, these 7,000+ apps alone aren’t enough.