windows on Mac m1

Couple of different threads, here...

Arm is seeking to reduce the disparities and divergences among implementations with their SBSA work, though whether M1 complies? The Linux port to M1 is well along. Windows 10 on Arm is already running on M1 in QEMU and in the Parallels beta, though not (yet?) natively, which was the original question.

Wouldn’t expect a third-party FX!32 app whether (or not) from Apple or (not) other vendors, though would expect Microsoft to use similar techniques within their existing x86-64 support; in the Microsoft analog to Rosetta. Because while running Windows x86-64 apps on M1 might be (is) niche for Apple, running Windows x86-64 apps on Windows 10 Arm isn’t niche for Microsoft. Some emulation is pretty speedy, particularly on a fast processor such as M1.

And yes, if you want or need Windows on Mac, at least in the near term, order an Intel Mac with Boot Camp support.

What or when or if Microsoft might do with Arm and M1 or follow-ons, well, ask Redmond.

Rudegar wrote:

even when / if microsoft let non oem buy win10 arm then if peoples goal is to play windows x86 games with a good performance, they're gonna have a bad time.

That remains to he determined. Could very well be the case, too.

But there are platforms where emulation is faster than was native hardware.

A fair chunk of the app emulation here will be running the native Windows code at full speed as did FX!32 on Windows a quarter-century ago. Windows 10 on Arm itself is already native, no emulation required. Which means the OS calls made by the apps can run full native speed. Much of the app-local parts of the rest can either be translated / pre-compiled at load or at install time. The busier parts of what’s left of the app JIT’d. So... whether the games or the other sorts of apps are faster or slower isn’t going to be clear until after some tests can be run.

Where this cross-platform-apps project all tends to fall over is with the app support, less with the translation. App vendors often won’t support translated versions of their apps, or would prefer not to. Whether that’s acceptable to the users varies. And that’s all beyond discussions of app translation performance. App-vendor support policies are more important to some app users and less important to others.

If you must have Microsoft Windows on a Mac, consider buying an Intel Mac, before Apple stops selling them and the supply starts dwindling.

Even the Surface Pro ARM runs on a custom Microsoft Qualcomm SQ1/SQ2 processor, which is not the same as the Apple M1. It would require porting.

FX!32 is/was a good product for it's day, but it is a very tough commercial justification to maintain such a product for a niche market. As MrHoffman points out QEMU may be a good choice for such a niche market.

There is also Apple's Rosetta 2 (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/apple-silicon/about-the-rosetta-translation-environment), which does not support x86 VMs.

even when / if microsoft let non oem buy win10 arm then if peoples goal is to play windows x86 games with a good performance, they're gonna have a bad time.

Ask Microsoft. AFAIK, there’s no native version of Windows 10 Arm available (yet?) for purchase, though Windows 10 Arm guests booted via QEMU have been discussed around the ‘net, as has Windows 10 Arm booted on Parallels 16 (2nd technical preview).

There isn't a way to install Windows to its own partition at this time. I don't believe there's even a VM that works on an M1 Mac yet.

??