Today, Microsoft officially announced support for Windows 8 on ARM processor architecture.
Steven Sinofsky’s blog post is long, but thorough and interesting. Here are some highlights from the post.
Windows on ARM
- Windows will run on ARM
- Windows on ARM is still under development with expected milestones that align with x86/64
- Metro style applications will run on ARM
- Windows on ARM will ship with new versions of desktop applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote (currently ‘Office 15’) and Internet Explorer 10
- Windows on ARM will support a desktop experience similar to X86/64 with File Explorer and Internet Explorer
Support for Connected Devices Services
- Mobile Broadband
- Printer
- GPS
- Sensors (accelerometer, rotation, gyroscope, compass, magnetometer)
- Bluetooth
- Media Transfer Protocol over USB and IP
- Windows Update
Other Notes
- Developing apps for ARM will be the same as developing Metro style applications on WinRT.
- Applications for Windows on ARM will only be serviced through the Windows Store (metro applications)
- Windows 8 will run on all Windows 7 logo PCs
You can find the entire post here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/02/09/building-windows-for-the-arm-processor-architecture.aspx