For decades, consumers and businesses have relied on the stability and vast ecosystem of Windows® applications running on x86/x64 architecture from Intel and AMD. Over the last several years, a handful of companies have tried to shake up the market by releasing devices with Arm®-based processors that require a completely redesigned version of Windows. But those Arm-based Windows devices have struggled to take hold due to many issues related to software compatibility, driver and hardware support, poor performance, high latency, and frequent crashes.
Now, Qualcomm is hoping to turn things around with its recent release of Qualcomm® Snapdragon® X and Snapdragon X Elite processors for Windows on Arm. Early online reviews look promising, demonstrating far fewer issues and much greater performance than Qualcomm’s predecessor chips and the previous iteration of Windows on Arm. But are the improvements enough? And do they overcome the compatibility challenges that plagued earlier releases of Windows on Arm?
Prowess Consulting, sponsored by Intel, performed testing and research to answer that question. We found that despite the improvements, devices powered by x64 architecture–based processors offer much broader support for applications, games, drivers, and peripherals while providing exceptional performance for complex productivity, content creation, and AI workloads.
