The Windows PC is about to get GOOD, and you can thank Windows on Arm for that

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Microsoft will outline its vision for the future of Windows PCs on Monday, and Windows on Arm will be at the center.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 rear

A theoretical Surface Pro 10 with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite would be a game changer for Windows PCs.

 (Image credit: Future)

On Monday, Microsoft will unveil its vision for a new era of the Windows PC, consisting of new Arm silicon from Qualcomm paired with next-gen AI experiences. These will result in new Windows devices that are always aware of what you’re doing, able to translate languages in real-time, improve your webcam with artificial lighting and filters, artificially increase gaming performance, and generate text and images on-device.

Microsoft has been working towards this combination of hardware and software since early 2021, after it held an all-hands meeting with leaders across Windows and Surface to discuss how it would respond to Apple Silicon. The company discussed a project called CADMUS, which aimed to bring to market a new era of Windows devices that are performant, efficient, and AI-capable.

Microsoft has worked very closely with Qualcomm on its new Snapdragon X chips, resulting in a moment for Windows on Arm that it’s never had before. The next wave of Windows on Arm devices will be the first with true all-day battery life and consistent instant wake without sacrificing performance. These new chips do trade blows with Apple Silicon.

A new generation of Windows PCs

Windows PCs are about to get good. (Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

Internally, I'm told Microsoft has described these CADMUS devices as "the next generation of Windows PCs," differentiated by the AI experiences that will be exclusive to them. Microsoft will unveil the first CADMUS PCs in the form of a new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop, powered by Snapdragon X and featuring quality-of-life upgrades such as an OLED display on the Pro and a refreshed design on the Laptop that includes a haptic trackpad.

Notably, these devices will only be available with Qualcomm's Arm chip. You won't find Intel variants of Microsoft's latest consumer-facing offerings, and that's a big deal. It shows just how confident Microsoft is about its CADMUS effort, further strengthened by the fact all the big-name OEMs are expected to ship their own Arm-powered devices this summer alongside Microsoft.

It's the first time in Windows on Arm's history that this is happening. Microsoft's hardware partners are all coming together for this big Windows on Arm relaunch, and they are all now confident that Windows on Arm is ready for mainstream audiences. The new chips are so powerful that most emulated apps will no longer feel emulated, which was a big hurdle for Windows on Arm to overcome.

These new devices will be the first to set 16GB RAM and 256GB storage as a baseline. You won't find a CADMUS device on the market with 8GB RAM, which itself is a big step forward for Windows PCs. People have been asking for this forever, and it seems to be finally happening.  

Windows on Arm can no longer be ignored

Microsoft Store Windows

App developers and OEMs are finally taking Windows on Arm seriously.  (Image credit: Future)

Also, app developers seem to be finally taking Windows on Arm seriously. Popular apps such as Chrome, Spotify, and Photoshop are now natively compiled for Windows on Arm, and more apps and developers are always jumping on board. WhatsApp, DaVinci Resolve, and more Adobe apps are expected to join the fray soon. This platform can no longer be ignored.

Existing Windows on Arm devices are also benefiting from this. The more apps that are natively compiled for Arm, the less emulation is required, which means better performance and battery life. My Surface Pro X is a better device today than two years ago, thanks to app developers finally adopting Arm for many of my apps.

This isn’t just a flash in the pan, either. Microsoft fully intends to offer all its high-end Surface PCs with an Arm chip going forward, including the next Surface Laptop Studio, which I’m told is currently in the works. Still, it likely won’t make an appearance until 2025.

Microsoft’s big AI push in Windows will be exclusive to Windows on Arm devices for now, at least until Intel and AMD can cook up NPUs (neural processing units) that can match what Qualcomm is outputting. With that in mind, I expect the ultimate goal is for the platform architecture to be irrelevant to the end user. If a Windows PC with a Qualcomm chip is just as capable as a Windows PC with an Intel chip, why does it matter if it’s x86 or Arm?

AIl will be revealed on Monday

Microsoft will talk about new hardware and software experiences on Monday.  (Image credit: Microsoft)

Windows on Arm is finally about to be in the spotlight for all the right reasons. The combination of silicon and AI experiences will be unmatched for quite a while. If you’re in the market for a new PC right now, and your next one isn’t a Windows on Arm device, you’re making a huge mistake.

Windows Central will be on the ground at Microsoft’s special Windows and Surface event on Monday, May 20. Please tune in to our live blog at 10 AM PT (1 PM ET, 6 PM BST) for all the news as it happens. Alternatively, check out our detailed post on what to expect for spoilers!

Zac Bowden
Zac Bowden
Senior Editor

Zac Bowden is a Senior Editor at Windows Central. Bringing you exclusive coverage into the world of Windows on PCs, tablets, phones, and more. Also an avid collector of rare Microsoft prototype devices! Keep in touch on Twitter and Threads

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • taynjack
    If all of this comes true, this will be the first major Microsoft innovation since the Surface Studio. (Chatgpt was mostly Openai's doing. Microsoft was just the platform it dropped on.) It's been deafeningly quiet for big windows innovations for a long while; almost a decade. Since then it's been nothing but hype for half baked then left to wither, and announced but never released. Windows mixed reality seems like the last Microsoft product that was mostly baked and where the OEM's were all in. Even that in Microsoft culture withered on the vine. I'm still cautious on this one. I guess I've been burned too many times.
    Reply
  • taynjack
    Curious to see if Lenovo uses this processor in their ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid?
    Reply
  • Kaymd
    Isn't this upcoming windows AI software capability only artificially limited to the ARM portable devices? What of mainly desktop users with far more powerful CPUs/GPUs and theoretically no power limit? These devices are more than capable of running the AI explorer. So why limit the functionality to the mobile devices?
    Reply
  • John McIlhinney
    Kaymd said:
    Isn't this upcoming windows AI software capability only artificially limited to the ARM portable devices? What of mainly desktop users with far more powerful CPUs/GPUs and theoretically no power limit? These devices are more than capable of running the AI explorer. So why limit the functionality to the mobile devices?
    I believe that the AI features use the NPU specifically and the NPUs in current Intel and AMD CPUs are not up to the task. From what I've read, they need to get about 4-5 times more powerful, which they will be in the next generations.
    Reply
  • End User
    "The Windows PC is about to get GOOD"

    The Windows laptop space is about to see a major improvement at the low to mid-range. This has nothing to do with the classic Windows desktop PC at the moment.
    Reply
  • Kaymd
    John McIlhinney said:
    I believe that the AI features use the NPU specifically and the NPUs in current Intel and AMD CPUs are not up to the task. From what I've read, they need to get about 4-5 times more powerful, which they will be in the next generations.
    Yes that's understood, but what of high end desktops with 'unlimited' power? Desktop class RTX GPUs are far more capable than any laptop NPU.
    Reply
  • Kaymd
    End User said:
    "The Windows PC is about to get GOOD"

    The Windows laptop space is about to see a major improvement at the low to mid-range. This has nothing to do with the classic Windows desktop PC at the moment.
    My thoughts exactly. I'm predominantly a desktop user, with desktop grade CPU/GPU/RAM at the high end. I'm wondering why this Windows AI explorer isn't starting life on far more capable machines.
    Reply
  • John McIlhinney
    Kaymd said:
    Yes that's understood, but what of high end desktops with 'unlimited' power? Desktop class RTX GPUs are far more capable than any laptop NPU.
    A discrete GPU is not an NPU. As I said, the AI functionality is targeted at the NPU specifically. I'm sure that it could be implemented to make use of a discrete GPU but that would be extra work. There is no artificial limitation because it's not the case that the capability is there but not being used. That capability hasn't even been implemented. I would imagine that future generations of desktop processors will include an NPU too and then it will work with the current implementation. That's my understanding anyway.
    Reply