Microsoft Store accepts apps for ARM64 architecture

The Microsoft Store will now accept apps based on the ARM64 architecture, allowing users of Windows 10 on ARM 64bits to download ARM apps from the store. The support coincides with the arrival of Visual Studio 15.9.

Visual Studio 15.9 now includes the SDK and tools to help developers create ARM64 apps. Both Universal Windows Apps and traditional Win32 programs can be compiled as ARM64 variants. Developers can now distribute it through the Microsoft Store. That reports Microsoft.

For a long time, Windows on ARM only supported 32-bit ARM apps from its announcement in late 2016, while x86 programs also only run in 32-bit via emulation. As of May, the OS supports ARM64 apps, and Microsoft released an early preview of the tools that developers can use to create these types of apps. The company then emphasized that it was not yet official support. There is now.

Windows on ARM is the Windows version for systems with ARM chips. Microsoft is working with Qualcomm on so-called Always Connected PCs that should distinguish themselves with long battery life and LTE support. Qualcomm is expected to announce a new soc for laptops at the end of this year, which was known as the Snapdragon 1000, but may come out as Snapdragon 8180.