Microsoft and Qualcomm to help developers make apps Windows 10 on ARM-compatible

Today at Ignite Microsoft announced a partnership with Qualcomm to extend their App Assure with FastTrack testing platform to developers who want to make sure their apps run well on Windows 10 on ARM.

Microsoft’s App Assure with FastTrack program is a service designed to help customers, developers, and independent software vendors address application compatibility issues, at no additional cost for qualifying customers.  A focus of the program will be to engage vendors to deliver compatibility of Windows 10 apps on Snapdragon compute platforms so that users working anywhere can confidently use Windows 10 apps on Snapdragon-powered devices.

“The future of mobile computing is powerful, thin and light PCs equipped with 4G/5G connectivity, and offer multi-day battery life. Snapdragon compute platforms lead this innovative new era, enabling breakthrough experiences for learning, productivity, and entertainment on the go,” said Keith Kressin, SVP & GM, Computing & Edge Cloud, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are pleased that the expansion of Microsoft’s App Assure program will help ensure great user experiences across Snapdragon-powered Windows laptops and 2-in-1s.”

“The consistent application compatibility of Windows 10 has been the reason for its worldwide adoption, and we’re proud to extend this compatibility promise to Windows 10 on ARM. Now our customers can have confidence that their business-critical applications will work on Snapdragon-powered Windows devices,” said Brad Anderson, CVP, Commercial Management Experiences, Microsoft.

In some ways the program is an admission that Windows 10 on ARM has not been able to live up to its promise of effortless compatibility with x86 Windows 10 and its ecosystem of apps and services, with Microsoft and Qualcomm seemingly trying to address the issues from the direction of developers rather than fixing the platform.

Developers who are having difficulty getting their x86 apps to work well on Windows 10 on ARM can sign up for Microsoft’s testing and assistance at their App Assure with FastTrack site here.