It should come as no surprise that Microsoft is looking to follow Apple in designing its own ARM-based processors that support Windows 10. The latest leak puts the focus on Windows servers, but there are a number of consumer devices as well. .
Panos Panay, head of product at Microsoft Corp., shows off the Surface Pro X i tablet … [+]
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Microsoft’s current ARM-based family, Surface Pro X runs on silicon developed in partnership between Microsoft and Qualcomm, with Qualcomm’s first and second generation 8cx processors at the heart of Microsoft’s SQ1 and SQ2.
Moving on to its own ARM chip design could allow Microsoft to reap the same benefits that Apple has found with its M1 processor. The latter has specific circuits that work in conjunction with the low-level macOS code, which offers significant speed and efficiency advantages.
Microsoft Windows works with a much wider footprint of technology, with different manufacturers and different chipsets. It should be much more universal and offer wider compatibility. To achieve this scope, something needs to change, and that’s the amazing connection between software and hardware that Apple can lean on.
Certainly, Microsoft has its own silicon to benefit from, but computer hardware and software would need to be controlled for maximum benefit. The latest news may not have many details, but the general scope suggests that this is the plan. Ian King and Dina Bass for Bloomberg:
“The world’s largest software maker uses Arm Ltd. designs to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers, according to people familiar with the plans. It is also exploring the use of another chip that would feed part “People asked not to identify themselves by discussing private initiatives.”
The effort seems to be driven by cloud computing and while all is well, running your own silicon on servers will allow for the natural benefits of increased processing power with less power and heat will allow for better performance of any server farm.
But it’s that the potential for a consumer device with tighter integration has floated, and personally that has moved me.
The aforementioned Surface Pro X has shown that the Windows 10 project where ARM is ready for general use and as 2020 is over, the 64-bit emulation beta joins the 32-bit emulation. bits and the ability to run native ARM64, opening the extensive catalog of Windows applications.
It is also noted that the two emulation options do not offer performance that matches the execution of applications on an x86-based machine and that battery life is high. This contrasts with the feeling of running macOS x86 applications on the new MacBooks and macMini with M1 technology. The reason is simple, the additional growl of Apple machines compensates for the inefficiencies that any layer of emulation has.
Microsoft is creating a custom Arm chip that will take the best of the Surface Pro X (and there are many that I like) and pair it with the tight integration of Windows 10 and the new chip would surely close the gap now between Windows and macOS. .
The question might be to what extent will Apple’s new hardware have when Microsoft catch up with the first-generation M1 hardware?
Now read more about the impact of the ARM race on the desktop web browser …