Insights from a Year-Long Journey: A Developer’s Experience with Windows 11 on ARM

The gaming world got a serious upgrade in 2024 when Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite series chips. Previously, using a Windows device with Snapdragon was just okay—but this new generation turns them into genuine contenders against Intel and AMD-powered machines.

Now, let’s dive into the realm of software development. How does Windows on ARM stack up there? Who better to answer this than someone within the trenches of development? Michael Niehaus shared his year-long journey of using Windows 11 on ARM on his blog, shedding light on its capabilities.

It’s important to note, though, that his experience wasn’t with a native setup. Instead, he virtualized Windows 11 on ARM on macOS. Despite the unique setup, many are curious about its performance and compatibility, and overall, the feedback seems positive.

Niehaus provided valuable insights into the process by noting, “When it comes to developing software on ARM64, even if it’s meant for other architectures, the experience is surprisingly smooth. Visual Studio runs well on ARM64, .NET is architecture-neutral, and cross-compiling for x64, macOS, and Linux is a breeze. The x64 emulation is impressive, making running Windows x64 binaries straightforward.”

One of the main challenges he faced was upgrading his virtualization software to support more RAM, hindering a seamless experience. Furthermore, macOS doesn’t allow nested virtualization, preventing the use of WSL2 within the Windows 11 virtual machine.

A significant obstacle lay in Microsoft’s camp. Niehaus pointed out a strange choice by Microsoft: “SQL Server 2022’s lack of ARM64 support is a peculiar gap that desperately needs addressing. Thankfully, third-party scripts can circumvent installer issues to get it running.”

Despite these quirks, it’s heartening to hear from someone like Niehaus, who emphasizes that using Windows 11 on ARM for demanding tasks is not only feasible but effective.

On a fully native ARM machine, unlike in a virtualized setting, you’d have the advantage of using WSL2, which I’ve personally tested and found to operate seamlessly on a Snapdragon X Elite laptop, provided you’re using an ARM64 Linux distro.

For anyone intrigued by this subject, Niehaus’s full post is a great read. Windows may have taken its time to mature in the ARM arena, but the strides it has made indicate that an exciting future awaits.