Microsoft Teams finally getting compiled for ARM64 Windows 10 … eventually

It’s been a few years, but Microsoft seems to have finally committed to a native ARM64 build of Microsoft Teams. Now, if it could do that for all its apps.

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What you need to know

Late in 2019, the team behind Electron, which drives many cross-platform apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams, announced that it has beenrecompiled for Windows on ARM. But since its announcement, we have seen virtually no companies recompiling for ARM64, including (and embarrassingly) Microsoft.

That seems to be about to change. Just a few daysafter I lamentedthe status of Microsoft Teams for devices like Surface Pro X,Lenovo Flex 5GandSamsung Galaxy Book S, Rish Tandon, corporate vice president of Engineering for Microsoft Teams gave some guidance. In response to a question on Twitter, Tandon noted that Microsoft Teams for ARM64isin the works.

Yes, that’s in the work - don’t have a date for you yetYes, that’s in the work - don’t have a date for you yet— Rish Tandon (@rishmsft)July 23, 2020July 23, 2020

Of course, no timeline was provided, so its exact stage of development is unknown. However, considering up until this point Microsoft has never even committed publicly to making Microsoft Teams for ARM64, this is, sadly, progress.

An ongoing problem

Microsoft Teams does run on devices likeSurface Pro X, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, but it needs to run in Win32 emulation with reduced performance. Users can also opt to use Microsoft Teams as an “installed app” through the new Chromium Edge browser and its Progressive Web App feature. Still, issues with notifications and windowing are not uncommon.

Companies like Electronand UNITYhave released the tools to developers to bring native apps and games to Windows on ARM, but so far, it has been a slow burn. Even the newSkype is running on Electronwith reduced performance.

Microsoft has been quite egregious with such inconsistencies. Its newXbox (Beta) app for Windows 10, for instance, won’t even install on a Windows 10 on ARM PC. Rumors suggest Microsoft may integrate itsProject xCloudinto said app for handiness. If accurate, that means Windows 10 on ARM PCs won’t be able even to leverage Xbox game streaming, which seems like a massive oversight.

At the very least, such lagging support for Microsoft Teams, Skype, Xbox, etc. signifies a lack of coherent vision at Microsoft. New platforms are only supported when convenient for the teams behind them.

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Microsoft evenhad to be proddedto release its Chromium-Edge browser for ARM64 even as Surface Pro X was hitting stores. It was only eight months ago Microsoftbegan filtering non-compatible Microsoft Store appsfor Windows on ARM users.

As I remarked on last week’s podcast, Apple would not do this. When Apple launchesits custom ARM devicesand OS launch later this year, it is highly unlikely it will be in the same position as Microsoft.

Microsoft announced it would begin supporting ARMin December 2016, with the first PCsannounced a year later. Since then, there has been steady progress, but it is also clear that Microsoft could be doing a lot more to support its own platform and hardware.

But hey, at least we now know that someday, Microsoft Teams will run natively on Surface Pro X. Sarcastic golf claps all around.

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer,podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.