Planning to run Windows OS on ARM-based Macs? Microsoft may make you wait

Microsoft only licenses Windows 10 on ARM to PC makers so that they can pre-install it and use it. However, there seems no plan to bring the same via Boot Camp for ARM-based Macs.

Apple macOS Big Sur (Apple)

Apple has already announced its grand plans to switch from Intel to ARM architecture processors in the next couple of years. While that comes as a good news for certain users, those who wanted to run Windows OS on them using Boot Camp, they might face disappointment. It has been reported that Microsoft only licenses Windows 10 on ARM to PC makers so that they can pre-install it and use it. However, there seems no plan to bring the same via Boot Camp for ARM-based Macs.

“Microsoft only licenses Windows 10 on ARM to OEMs,” said the spokesperson to The Verge. The spokesperson added that “we have nothing further to share at this time.”

This however, seems slightly surprising as Apple is already working with Microsoft on bringing Office to ARM-based Macs later this year. Some of it was showcased during the WWDC 2020 presentation as well. But this doesn't mean that there is absolutely no hope. Maybe users are able to use Boot Camp ad install Windows 10 OS on ARM-based Macs at a later date. It might be possible that both companies are working on some sort of support, which is far from ready as of now.

Yes, there is also a possibility of running Windows 10 on ARM-based Macs using apps like VMWare or Parallels. However, these might not support Apple's Rosetta 2 translation tool. VMWare seems committed to working towards it as it has even asked in its community on how they should use its Fusion virtualisation on ARM-based Macs. However, there doesn't seem to be a concrete decision yet.