Up until a few years ago, PCs almost exclusively ran on x86-based chips from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) or AMD, not Arm-based chips using Arm Holdings' (NASDAQ: ARM) technology. In 2020, Apple officially made the switch from Intel CPUs to its own home-grown Arm-based chips for its Mac computers. It wasn't an easy thing to do. Apple had to come up with an emulation layer, called Rosetta 2, that allows software designed for Intel-based Macs to run on the new Arm-based Macs.

has tried multiple times to bring its Windows operating system to Arm-based systems. The first attempt, Windows RT, was a disaster. The OS wasn't compatible with any Windows software designed for standard Windows, but it looked exactly the same as the current version of Windows. This made for a confusing and frustrating experience for those unfortunate enough to have bought a device running Windows RT.

Microsoft is now trying again with Arm versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. Qualcomm has released a few Arm-based chips which are used in devices running the Arm version of Windows. This time around, Microsoft has included an emulation layer that allows standard Windows apps to run on Arm-based systems. It's not perfect – software drivers for some hardware won't work, and some PC games can't be played at all. But it's a huge step forward compared to Windows RT.

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Source Fool.com