- Spotify has a new beta version of its desktop app compiled for ARM64/Windows on ARM.
- The current beta is 1.1.86.857 and is available via the Spotify forums.
- There is only one known issue with the beta related to some video Podcast episodes.
Windows on ARM is seemingly having a good year, at least for improved support. Microsoft just announced a new "Project Volterra" dev kit for ARM, and now Spotify is getting on board with a natively compiled version of its desktop app for ARM64 Windows laptops like the 2021 HP Elite Folio.
The announcement for the release came via Spotify’s community forums (spotted by @sinclairinat0r and reddit), which is also where users can download the .exe installation file.
Version 1.1.86.857 is the latest compiled for Windows on ARM and looks just like the desktop client except now with much faster performance for startup and load times.
According to Spotify, there is currently only one known bug with the release: “Some video Podcast episodes can’t be played, and trying to do so results in an error message about updating the Spotify client version.”
While that bug may sound like a deal-breaker, Spotify notes you can work around it for now by simply going to “the Share option in the menu, copy the Web link and paste it in your browser to then watch it there in the web player instead.”
Spotify notes it’s looking for feedback on the release on what works and what doesn’t so it can continue to improve the final version, which is likely to be finished in the coming months.
In our quick hands-on with the ARM64 version, performance is night and day, with the newly compiled app launching nearly instantly and without lag.
Lenovo is expected to release its new ThinkPad X13s, its first ARM-based ThinkPad, in the coming weeks. That laptop is the first to feature Qualcomm’s latest 8cx Gen 3 processor, which should perform faster than an Intel 10th Gen Core i5 for single-core performance, but ahead of the 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 for multi-core. Likewise, Microsoft is expected to release a third-gen Surface Pro X later this fall, with a similar processor and a new 120Hz display, and possibly 5G.
