What you need to know
- A preview build of Windows 11 improves Prism emulation for apps.
- The “major feature update” adds support for more CPU features under emulation, including using AVX and AVX2, BMI, FMA, and F16C extensions.
- Adobe Premiere Pro 25 already uses some of the new Prism emulation features to run on Windows on Arm PCs.
As a seasoned tech enthusiast with decades of tinkering under my belt, I find the recent developments in Windows 11 for Arm PCs particularly intriguing. The enhancements to Prism emulation are not just baby steps; they’re giant leaps towards making non-native Arm applications run more smoothly on these devices.
On Arm-based Windows computers, using processors such as the Snapdragon X Elite, is set to receive an enhancement soon. Microsoft is currently testing an upgrade to its Prism emulation software that incorporates support for running additional CPU features under emulation. This update will improve the performance of non-native Arm applications on top-tier Copilot+ systems.
As a researcher, I’m excited to share that I’ve been part of the testing phase for an innovative new feature within the Windows Insiders’ Canary Channel. Microsoft has just released Build 27744 to this channel. Interestingly, the support for additional extensions isn’t completely novel; Adobe Premiere Pro 25 has been leveraging some of these newly supported extensions via Prism emulation. However, starting with Build 27744, any x64 application under emulation will now have access to an extended list of extensions.
Delving deeper into specifics, applications using Prism emulation now offer compatibility with additional extensions such as AVX and AVX2, BMI, FMA, and F16C. While Windows doesn’t necessitate these extensions for operation, numerous apps depend on them to function properly.
The new CPU features are limited to x64 applications running through Prism emulation. Below, I’ve reshared the full change log in Build 27744 shared by Microsoft.
If everything proceeds smoothly during testing, the enhancement for Prism emulation is expected to reach PCs with this feature soon. While the collection of top Windows on Arm native apps continues to expand, many more apps require running via emulation at present.
What’s new with Build 27744
New Processor Feature Support in Prism
Today’s Canary Channel Insider Preview introduces a significant enhancement to Prism, our Windows on Arm emulator, which allows for expanded compatibility of 64-bit x86 (x64) apps. This is achieved by incorporating support for additional CPU features within the emulation process.
In the current retail version of Windows 11, specifically 24H2, a new feature called Prism has been introduced for limited use, which allows Adobe Premiere Pro 25 to run on Arm systems. Starting from Build 27744, this support is being expanded to accommodate any x64 application under emulation. This means that games or creative apps previously incompatible due to CPU requirements might now function on this Windows build with the help of Prism.
In simpler terms, we’re enhancing the virtual CPU employed by x64 applications running on Prism. This enhancement includes the addition of extra instructions to the x86 architecture, such as AVX, AVX2, BMI, FMA, F16C, and others. These instructions are not essential for Windows operation but have become widespread enough that certain apps assume they’re available. You can observe some of these new functionalities using tools like Coreinfo64.exe.
In my analysis today, I’d like to highlight that the novel CPU features are exclusively accessible to x64 applications. For those using 32-bit apps or 64-bit apps relying on a 32-bit helper for CPU feature detection, these new features will unfortunately remain undetected in Prism.
We’d love to hear from our Insiders who are eager to test out apps and games using an early version of Prism! If you encounter any compatibility problems or notice performance decreases, kindly share your feedback via the Feedback Hub (Win + F). For specific issues with apps, please select the respective app in the Apps section, or choose “All other apps” if it’s not listed. Your input will greatly assist us in delivering an excellent experience with this updated Prism.
I’m thrilled to express my gratitude for your contributions towards enhancing emulation on Windows, especially for the Arm architecture. It’s a joy to witness more of our beloved apps and games becoming compatible with Windows on Arm, thanks to your efforts!
Changes and Improvements
Start menu
- “All apps” is now just “All” on the Start menu.
Input
- We’re beginning to roll out a new Gamepad keyboard layout for the on-screen keyboard in Windows 11 that supports the ability to use your Xbox controller to navigate and type. This includes button accelerators (example: X button for backspace, Y button for spacebar) additionally the keyboard keys have been vertically aligned for better controller navigation patterns.
Task Manager
- We’ve updated the design of the Disconnect and Logoff dialogs in Task Manager to now support dark mode and text scaling.
- In the Performance section we now label listed disks with their type.
Settings
- The detach virtual hard disk (VHD/VHDx) button we added under Settings > System > Storage > Disks & Volumes introduced with Build 27686 is now back with this build after being temporarily disabled starting with Build 27718.
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2024-11-07 21:10