A new benchmark test shows a huge performance gap between Apple’s M1 Macs and Windows on ARM machines running the latest 64-bit x86 apps via an official emulator.
We already know that the new Macs powered by the M1 chip have impressive performance that outperforms almost any Mac with Intel processors, but what about Windows PCs?
PCWorld compared Microsoft’s Surface Pro X to Apple’s new MacBook Air M1 , and the results show a huge performance gap between the two machines.
As noted by the publication, there are a few Windows computers based on ARM to choose from because only two chips – Snapdragon 8cx Qualcomm and Snapdragon 8cx January 2 – feed the platform. Microsoft’s SQ1 and SQ2 derivative processors, designed in collaboration with Qualcomm, power the Surface Pro X.
A huge limitation of Windows on ARM machines is that the operating system is limited to running 32-bit emulated X86 software. In other words, the system is unable to emulate and run 64-bit apps built for AMD and Intel processors.
The 32-bit software runs at significantly lower performance, and Apple dropped it in 2019 with macOS Catalina. At the same time, the company introduced Rosetta 2 technology for the new M1 Macs, which essentially translates any software created for Intel Macs into an ARM binary.
Microsoft recently released a beta version of Windows that offers emulation for 64-bit X86 software, but the performance is nowhere near as good as new Macs with the M1 chip. In a Geekbench 5 test, the Surface Pro X was outclassed by the new MacBook Air M1 :

Another test was performed with HandBrake, an open source video transcoding software. While the new MacBook Air with M1 chip converted a 12-minute 4K video to a 1080p H.265 format in about 23 minutes , the Surface Pro X ARM took 2 hours to complete the same task

Based on its testing, PCWorld claims that “Windows on Arm will need a miracle” to match the performance of the new Apple Silicon chip Macs.
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