Qualcomm exec says Google Chrome is coming to Windows 10 on ARM next year

2 min. read

Published on October 22, 2018

published on October 22, 2018

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HP, Asus and Lenovo were some of the first PC OEMs to launch Windows 10 on ARM PCs powered by Qualcomm chips this year, and Samsung will follow soon with its new Galaxy Book2. So far, the first Always-Connected PCs have impressed with their much-better battery and always-on capabilities, but they also have received criticism for the subpar performance of emulated Win32 apps.

If Google Chrome is your favorite web browser, then a Windows 10 on ARM PC is probably not for you: That’s because Google Chrome has yet to be recompiled for 64-bit ARM processors, and the web browser is currently using the built-in Win32 app emulator on Windows 10 on ARM. This makes the app run much slower than Microsoft Edge or other apps that have already been compiled for Windows 10 on ARM.

Google Chrome is the most popular web browser worldwide, and Google can’t really afford to ignore the fact that more PC OEMs are slowly embracing Windows 10 on ARM. In an interview with Android Authority (via Neowin), Miguel Nunes, Qualcomm senior director of product management, said that an ARM port of Google Chrome is already in the works:

We’re still working with the different OEMs and designs. I expect you’ll see it probably around (the) second half of next year. Every OEM will decide whatever their launch timeline is, but we’re actively working on it.

Interestingly, Nunes didn’t mention Google in his statement, just PC OEMs. “It’s unclear what was meant when Nunes said Qualcomm was working with different OEMs for the initiative. One possibility is that the port will be launched on laptops from specific brands (at least initially) rather than general availability for all Windows 10 Arm laptops,” wrote Android Authority.

It would be quite unprecedented to see the ARM port of Google Chrome launch exclusively on some Windows 10 on ARM PCs, but if true, this would really show that this web browser plays in a different league. There’s no denying that Windows 10 on ARM won’t succeed with emulated Win32 apps that perform poorly, and it’s now up to Google and other app developers to embrace this new platform.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time). For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web. Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they're looking for.