Ever since the release of Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft has touted Continuum to be one of the primary functionalities in its smartphones. This enables an individual to use an external device to plug in their phone, an external display, a keyboard, and a mouse to convert their setup into a working PC. This allowed them to enjoy a desktop-like experience using just their smartphones.
And while Microsoft’s hardware push in smartphones may have taken a backseat, the company is now working on adding new features to the Continuum functionality.
As you’d know, Continuum currently allows the user to run only native Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps instead of allowing the complete windows32 software support. Now that, according to multiple reports, could soon change.
The Redmond giant is working on bringing x86 emulation for ARM64 to Windows 10 in the upcoming update codenamed ‘Redstone 3,’ which releases to users in late 2017. The next update to Windows 10 is ‘Redstone 2,’ which has officially been christened the Windows 10 Creators Update.
The instances of Microsoft developing an emulator which would enable users to directly run x86 apps on Windows 10 Mobile devices were first spotted by Twitter user Walking Cat. He defines the new functionality as “Windows’s hybrid x86-on-ARM64 tech,” which has the code name CHPE. Sources privy to the development tell ZDNet that the ‘C’ in here stands for Cobalt, which is the codename for x86 emulation on ARM in Windows. The HP in the same, as source believe, refers to the tech giant Hewlett Packard as they’ve been closely working with Microsoft on the development of its hybrid devices. And maybe the E stands for emulation (I’m just second guessing here).
If this functionality is introduced within Windows 10 in the upcoming updates, then it would make Redmond’s mobile offerings a lot more attractive and useful for users. Post the introduction of this tech, you wouldn’t require to carry along two separate devices. You could just simply use your Windows smartphone and dock the necessary third-party accessories to convert it into a full-fledged PC. It would execute any Windows application(even Win32 ones) without any hiccups in user experience.
In addition, Walking Cat further adds that it has also spotted code segments which indicate that the operating system will also allow some kind of hybrid executables – combining both x86 and ARM code in a single file. Since info about the same is scarce, the Twitter user has also contradicted his own statement in the following tweet. This technology is expected to most likely be aimed at smartphones or tablets/hybrid Windows devices.
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