Google Chrome, the most popular browser in the world, is finally adding native support for Arm-based Windows devices. A recently-released Canary build of Chrome has been compiled for Windows on Arm, meaning it will run with native performance on devices like the Surface Pro 9 with 5G, Surface Pro X, and Lenovo ThinkPad X13s.

Windows on Arm has been around for over half a decade at this point, and software support has been one of the main detractors to widespread adoption. Google, in particular, has been a major cause of concern, due to Chrome being an incredibly popular browser. Despite having versions of Chrome optimized for Arm devices on ChromeOS and macOS, Google has never shown any signs of supporting Windows on Arm, but it seems like that's finally changing. Today's release is in the Canary channel. and while this means most users won't be able to take advantage of this just yet, it also means that a native Arm version of Chrome is in the works, and it should launch officially within the next few months.

The browser is also an incredibly important piece of the puzzle when it comes to Arm support, because web browsers get hurt the most when running in emulation. This is because web browsers need to generate new code on the fly to display webpages, so the emulation layer is constantly being utilized, meaning you'll see the performance impact of emulation the whole time. A typical app may take longer to launch or load certain elements, but performance is otherwise close to running it natively.

2024 is looking bright for Windows on Arm

The timing for this change is perfect, too, as we're approaching an inflection point for Arm-based Windows PCs in 2024. With the introduction of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite, we're expecting to see levels of performance that are leaps and bounds better than what we currently have, and on top of that, ecosystem support seems to be stronger than ever, with all major PC manufacturers promising to launch new PCs with this processor later in the year.

Chrome isn't the only app promising Arm support in the future, either. Late last year, Blackmagic Design also promised a native Arm version of DaVinci Resolve, meaning video editing will also become possible on these machines. 2024 is looking to be an exciting year for Windows Arm PCs.