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We knew there was chemistry really….

MICROSOFT AND GOOGLE are working on bringing Chrome to its ARM-powered devices.

After an unofficial announcement from Qualcomm suggesting that Chrome would be coming at some point, there now seems to be evidence of the first movement on the new edition in commits to the Chromium nightly build source code.

At present, Chrome is presented in all its x86 and x64 glory and is then emulated, which means that it slows down so much that a lesser willed person could find themself switching to Edge, and that will never do.

What’s particularly special and magical is that Microsoft is working with Google to make it happen, rather than sulking on the sidelines, further proof that it is taking the “Always Connected” market very seriously indeed, which is a relief because there are a lot of apps still not available natively to ARM users.

Equally, it shows that Chrome is about more than competing with rivals, it’s actually seen as important part of the Windows ecosystem.

After all, many other apps that use Chrome or Chromium as their base will benefit from the move, such as Slack.

Lest we forget, Google has its eyes on a prize that sends the flow of traffic the other way – namely its rumoured ambitions to dual-boot Windows on its Pixelbook and Pixel Slate machines.

As 9to5Google points out, there would have to be some changes to the rules for the Microsoft Store for Chrome to be allowed in, which is quite significant as ARM PCs are set up to be used in ‘S Mode’ which only works with the Microsoft Store.


Neither party has officially announced that they are working together, nor is there a timescale for Chrome for ARM to arrive. But it certainly seems like it’s coming. μ

Further reading

Source : Inquirer

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