Windows on ARM – PC lite.

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Microsoft has learned from the RT disaster.

• The limitations of Windows on ARM are significant, but I suspect that for light usage and low-end prosumer purposes the devices will be good enough to occupy a niche in the market.
• Microsoft accidently published a list of the shortcomings of the new Windows on ARM PCs that it quickly redacted but not quickly enough to prevent tech bloggers from picking it up.
• The limitations are as follows:
  • First, x64. Only 32bit apps are supported.
  • This is because Microsoft has not put support into the OS yet.
  • Microsoft already has this on the roadmap making this a temporary limitation.
  • Second, drivers. Windows on ARM can’t use x86 drivers meaning that many older peripheral devices will not work with these devices.
  • Third, games. Any game requiring a version of OpenGL later than 1.1 or one that required OpenGL hardware acceleration wont work.
  • Given that OpenGL is currently on version 4.6, this could be a lot of games.
  • However, it is worth noting that gaming is unlikely to be a priority for those that buy these devices and hence this is not a big limitation in my opinion.
  • Fourth, shell extensions. Anything that uses a shell extension may not work.
  • There many apps that use these that often include their functionality in the menu that pops up on a right-click.
  • These types of applications need to be recompiled to run on natively on ARM.
  • This includes apps like Dropbox which could be an issue for prosumer usage.
• The most critical of these limitations is the inability to support x64, but this is likely to be fixed in a future release.
• Consequently, for light weight users doing pretty basic stuff with Office as well as browsing and watching video, this version of Windows on ARM could be good enough.
• Consequently, the advantages of the long battery life and always on connectivity enabled by using a Snapdragon processor should shine through and outweigh the limitations.
• I suspect that there is a niche for this category but one that has been made much smaller due to the vast majority of the “light” PC users having already deserted PCs for smartphones and tablets.
• Hence, this does not represent a massive threat to Intel and where there is erosion it will be in the lower end, lower margin processors where Intel will feel it least.
• Hence, I see no meaningful impact on Intel from this category yet.