A few years ago, developers figured out a way to get a full Windows 10 operating system running on a Lumia 950 and 950 XL smartphones. Over the years, the development of Windows 10 ARM port has picked up and made some steady progress.
Now, developers working on the project says that the team has managed to get Windows 10 Build 19041 (20H1) work on the Lumia smartphone. Currently, ARM64, ARM, and x86 apps can run with Windows 10 ARM on Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL devices.
As of now, this is limited to just these two devices. Although the developers are working on a port for Android smartphones, so far the development has not expanded to non-Lumia devices. it’s worth noting that developers have started working on a port for Android flagship smartphones.
EDITOR’S PICK: ZTE President Xu Ziyang confirms launch of 5nm chipset next year; 7nm chipset in production
Coming back to Windows 10 on ARM for Lumia, most of the sensors, including a light sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope, among others are working. The “MobileShell” app is available on Microsoft Store for devices running Windows 10 on Lumia which brings back navigation, status bar, and notification toast integration.
Further, it has got support for the cellular networks through “WOA Dialer”, but the connectivity may not be available for working for all, depending on the region. There’s also support for “Chat” and SMS, but MMS functionality is not yet supported.
With the development of Windows OS on ARM picking up pace, we expect a breakthrough for the Android port in the near future. Meanwhile, there are reports claiming that Apple could be ditching Intel for ARM for its upcoming MacBook.
