Oliver Haslam·

M1 Macs Could Soon Run Windows Natively With Microsoft And Qualcomm’s Special Deal Coming To An End

While it’s true that the new M1-based Macs are insanely fast and excellent machines, people can’t run Boot Camp and install a copy of Windows. That’s because Windows only runs on ARM machines built by Qualcomm and it sounds like that’s all set to change soon.

The exclusivity agreement between Microsoft and Qualcomm is coming to an end soon, according to an XDA report — although it isn’t known exactly when that will be.

The agreement came about because Qualcomm helped Microsoft get Windows running on ARM, something that Apple M1 machines could benefit from once the agreement comes to an end.

Windows on ARM was first announced by Microsoft and Qualcomm back in 2016. It was a big deal, as the big thing that separated it from the failed Windows RT was that it would be able to emulate x86 apps. Devices were announced a year later and started shipping shortly after that. Since than, Microsoft has added x64 emulation with Windows 11, along with ARM64EC, which makes it easier to run apps natively with emulated plug-ins.

This is all good news for buyers of modern Macs, with Microsoft and Apple able to then do a licensing deal that will see Windows come to Apple silicon for the first time.

That would be a very interesting idea, especially for those who are curious as to whether the highly impressive M1 Max chips could be viable gaming options.

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