Look at all these great ARM apps we’ve put out recently, like uh… five security suites that nobody uses unless they’re forced to… Or Prime Video which has been out for a year and works better in a browser anyway… Or Zoom which came out on ARM like two years ago… 
Unity could be important, but the rest of the list is a joke.
Yeah, why pay billions when Qualcomm will do the work for you? 
NUVIA WOW WOA moment, coming to you at Best Buys near you in late 2023, early 2024.
We’ll be sitting here this time next year debating whether it is “late fall 2024 or spring 2025.”
Doubt that. 
The 5nm manufacturing process they are using is fully mature at this point, so I foresee no delays in going forward since that is the final phase they are in at this stage of the game. Now, as for Intel, the cyclical king of roadmap delays…
Interesting article but think Rubino is missing several possible key drivers that to me anyway make this plausible.
Developing chips for the ever growing back end of Azure. MS has to have taken notice of what Google, Apple and Facebook have done with custom ARM deployments that they have done that are both significantly more power efficient while being at least as performant.
MS has long been unhappy on their reliance on intel/x86 and we’ve heard for example that intels failure with Lakefield which effectively killed the Neo is just the latest example of a plethora of recent misses by intel.
MS also has had to taken notice of what Apple got out of the M1 besides the processor itself which was a big uptick in mindshare as well as what matters most to shareholders which was a sustained bump in the stock price.
QUALCOMM’s failure to deliver a range of Snapdragons for the various price points and markets MS pursues. Truly the only market viable WOA option is the SQ series and the promised 7cx based chips seem to be forever vaporware.
TLDR I see lots of upside and very little downside to MS going in on their own ARM/WOA solution.
Well, assuming they started on this venture at least four years ago, they only have six more to go…
If you want the best Windows ARM laptop, get a MacBook Air (8gb of ram will do) and load Parallels Desktop 19 - so sayeth Paul Thurrott himself (skip to 2:10) - it was his Windows Weakly application pick of the week:
He says he can “personally” confirm it runs FASTER, in virtualization, than a hardware Windows on ARM machine - but he STRONGLY questions whether anyone should be running Windows on ARM…
It was apparent he did a pretty deep dive, and was “infuriatingly” impressed with speed and fluidity.
Interesting…I thought about doing that rather than selling my macbook, but I read that even in virtualization (Parallels) you can’t use a smartcard to authenticate to Azure Virtual Desktop.
Or save money and run the free VMWare Tech Preview! The Unofficial Fusion 2023 Tech Preview Companion … - VMware Technology Network VMTN
I Finally had a real test of my Pro X and I am chagrined to say that the WOA software, particularly legacy emulation did not fare well. Those of my fellow bar members will tell you that Appellate Work is quite exacting and pressure filled, with filing deadlines that try men’s souls.
Well, I had one of the largest trial court records I have ever had to deal with. It turned out to be 1,800 pages of appendix and a 50 page appellate brief (only because they wouldn’t let me write any more). Word Perfect running under emulation gets very wonky with documents of that size. The rules require the documents to be in 200 page volumes. So, I worked with 200 page documents. More than once, the program froze. A couple of times the document just disappeared. The screen went back to the Windows Logo so it did not resemble a failure of the graphics driver. No other symptoms. I’ve previously had back up files that would not open, so I was doubly squirilly when this started to happen. I got through it all by saving my document like it was 1986, virtually after each paragraph or other change to the doument. It was a PITA. Has be really thinking about Intel. over Arm. Still, it’s the first time in the time I’ve owned the Pro X that I’ve had a task this intensive. Maybe a single project every year or two that requires me to save like I’m using Wordstar again isn’t the end of the world. They are going to keep improving this software … no?
WordPerfect?
I meant WOA emulation. You make a good point. But, Ive done work this intense with an Intel CPU and narry a glitch under Windows OS. I think my problem is inherent in WOA emulation. I am seriously wondering if I need to get back on the farm.
I dont really expect WordPerfect to improve much. It is what it is. I cant do pleading this technical in Word.
If WordPerfect would just release an Android version, I would be sorely tempted to go with a Samsung Tab 9 with Wacom goodness.
I’m just waiting for MS to bring parity to OneNote on Android…
No (to answer your question)…lets hope the Surface Pro 11", or top end Intel Surface Go 4, will fit the bill for you, because I have no faith in M$ making ARM a flawless transition. ALL HANDS, ALL RESOURCES, are AI focused to keep artificially pumping their stock…
Seriously dude, that was one H$LL of an appellate task - congrats on pushing through it.So far the switch to MBP 16 has gone well, but I still fear time crunchers like this without my SP8 - my last business sale closing “only” had 27 signed closing documents, including a 47 page PSA and a 174 page set of disclosure schedules - I was really glad to have my “real” Word and Adobe Acrobat Pro for that one…
What am I saying… 
That’s why plan B (SP8 + iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra) is still an option on the table. 
I AM DOOMED!
It’s honestly why it will be hard for me to go back to Apple. I think they secretly hate the freedom of the mac. If anything they would be happy switch the Mac to running iPadOS. Look at the Vision Pro, it doesn’t run Mac, it runs an offshoot of iOS. That is intentional. They hate freedom to use the OS as you see fit. Of course this is all my opinion, but I think it is accurate.
The only reason they even like the Mac is they were able to shoehorn an iOS processor in there and make it work well (for the most part). When that slowly reverts back to the mean over the next couple of years (as Intel and AMD finally get more powerful), they won’t care. They want more iOS and less MacOS in their lives.
THUS no MacPad ever.
And this is basically in the wrong thread LOL.
Sure feel for you guys who need more battery life than the Windows options offer =P (I suppose the lack of 5G on intel tablets is a problem for some of you too though)
Surpisingly it’s not battery - I can carry a small USB-C charger for the SP8 all day if needed to top off. I also would like to go to 5g but that’s not a deal breaker. It’s more the fact that SP8<iPad Pro as a tablet, and being stuck in the walled garden for iMessage, FaceTime, News+. However, the other compromise I’ve been considering is that SP8 + iPhone Pro 15 Max/Ultra combo, and learn to live my “walled garden life” inside the the smaller iPhone flowerbed…
