Will Snapdragon X Elite and other ARM-based CPUs on Windows be supported?

[AlanMueller]

I am running an aging Dell Inspiron 15 7000 laptop with a 7th Gen Core i5 processor (7300HQ) and a GeForce GTX1050 GPU, and operations are getting to be a bit slow, especially simulation. I'm considering upgrading but it looks like the new X-elite processor should be similar to Apple Silicon's M3 lineup, which would be leaps and bounds ahead of what I have now and probably ahead of the current PCs available now as well. The question is support; will Fusion support ARM on Windows? What is the Fusion on Apple Silicon experience like? I'll probably wait to upgrade until next year anyways, but if there's no plan for Windows ARM support, I may as well upgrade to something, anything, better than what I have now.

I pretty much have to stick with a laptop; I program at my machines and am constantly moving between mill and lathe, and often program or design parts and make drawings at night in my house. Good laptop suggestions are welcome as well!

Thanks!

[lance.carocci]

We do not currently have formal support for Fusion 360 on Windows on ARM, but I have ran it using Windows 11's emulator with some success - you could use it to tinker with basic modeling, but I would not use it for mission-critical work, large assemblies, or heavy calculation just yet.

Porting our Mac client from Intel to Apple silicon yielded some solid performance and battery life improvements, though the process is still underway (while Fusion itself is native, some subcomponents we depend on are still being migrated and need Rosetta 2 at the moment).

When it comes to Fusion 360 on Windows on ARM, it's not a no or never, but Microsoft is still actively invested in x64, and that is still by far the largest segment of Windows users and where we currently direct our focus; contrast this to Apple who has completely ceased producing Intel-based devices - porting to ARM in this case is essential to continuing to exist on macOS.

[omali944]

Would very much second the request above!

I'm (now) using a Surface Pro 11 (Snapdragon Elite X) and wow, this thing runs amazingly well for Native ARM and surprisingly OK for emulation.

Fusion 360 is 'useable' for smaller work or simple manipulration but wow, a native Windows on ARM version of Fusion 360 would actually be very useable if it provided a 25-30% performance improvement.

I'm tossing up my next subscription license and am very keen to subscribe for Fusion 360....but quite frankly, Shapr3D is moving faster and adding features - complex assembly management and recent parametric modelling...and quite frankly, much better movement/manipulation of models with both kb+mouse and of course touch....

Fusion 360 does so many things well but it really needs to get moving on Windows ARM or will likely lose its lunch to a faster mover in my opinion!

[ArjanDijk]

@omali944 how many ARM windows laptops are sold? Do you really think it will outweight the investment in porting to ARM at this moment?

[lance.carocci]

There's another wrinkle - ARM laptops sold right now are Windows Home license-based, so they lack even the basic encryption and TPM support to be deployed safely in an enterprise environment. There is a dev kit, but it has been sold out for a while. Pro license devices will be available later this fall, and it will be easier for companies (and their IT security teams) to evaluate the platform for its potential.

[omali944]

It is a valid point mate, but if we all always think like this,  there is no growth mindset and things will inevitably decay over time. 

 I've successfully moved to a shapr3d subscription now and not coming back unless something changes.  Autodesk's loss,  not mine. 

[christopherleeanderson]

ARM windows laptops are strategic for Microsoft as one can see by the Copilt+AI PC announcement with Qualcomm: Introducing Copilot+ PCs - The Official Microsoft Blog

Microsoft now ships an ARM Surface Laptop: Buy Surface Laptop 13.8" or 15" AI PC w/Snapdragon X Elite - See Specs, Ports, Battery Life | Micros...

Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X Elite and Windows 11 Pro available right now at: Dell XPS 13 Laptop - Thin Laptops | Dell USA

I would like to see Autodesk guidance along the lines of "we don't currently support ARM processors for Windows, we're investigating, and we will update as our support evolves and the market continues to change."

[christopherleeanderson]

ARM windows laptops are strategic for Microsoft as one can see by the Copilt+AI PC announcement with Qualcomm: Introducing Copilot+ PCs - The Official Microsoft Blog

Microsoft now ships an ARM Surface Laptop: Buy Surface Laptop 13.8" or 15" AI PC w/Snapdragon X Elite - See Specs, Ports, Battery Life | Micros...

Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X Elite and Windows 11 Pro available right now at: Dell XPS 13 Laptop - Thin Laptops | Dell USA

I would like to see Autodesk guidance along the lines of "we don't currently support ARM processors for Windows, we're investigating, and we will update as our support evolves and the market continues to change."

[alfstr7]

While "Microsoft is still actively invested in x64" was true in November, it is no longer true.  Their commitment to the new Qualcomm chip and the significant performance improvements have been a game changer.  All other PC makers are following this as well.  Time for some Windows/Snapdragon support Audodesk!

[TrippyLighting]

This will take years!

It took the Fusion team 3 years after the intro of native Apple silicon to make a macOS application that runs on that hardware natively. 

[eric]

There are already business versions of the surfaces, which come with windows pro and enterprise. Is there any prediction for native arm support?

[lance.carocci]

@eric No, not at this time. Native support for Windows on ARM support is not under active development.

[team548]

From Tom's Hardware:  

By Mark Tyson

Published October 15, 2024

    And we should see 20% of the notebook market using Arm chips next year.

    Projections show that Arm CPUs will power 40% of notebooks sold in 2029

Tom's Hardware is usually pretty realistic.  

[team548]

Not the case that it is only Windows Home.  Windows 11 Pro 64 ARM is available with an example attached:

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpadt/lenovo-thinkpad-t14s-gen-6-14-inch-snapdra...

[team548]

Snapdragon is not just Windows home. Lenovo has Snapdragon with Windows 11 Pro 64 ARM sold with ThinkPad T14s.

[mabrman]

I cried a little reading this. It's hard to recommend any non-ARM laptop coming into 2025 due to the performance/watt metric. Really hoping x86 emulation is going to pick up cause buying another x86 computer after trying ARM feels like shooting myself in the leg.

Thank you for a semi-official statement. I always wondered if Autodesk was picking up on this trend or sticking to x86.

[lance.carocci]

It's not a never or really even a no, just that resources are not unlimited, and Windows is already pretty decent at translating x64 to ARM64, so it's a lower priority.

[wscullen]

Windows is already pretty decent at translating x64 to ARM64

No I have to disagree here. Trying to use discord x64 (all be it, an Electron app) was un-usable with almost 1 second delays in user interactions. Brushing off arm64 on windows because the translation layer is "pretty decent" is not acceptable. The translation layer is there for a stop gap, not for a permanent solution. I think autodesk really needs to get working on this because arm64 is the future of user machines.

[lance.carocci]

Have you tried Fusion with XtaJIT yet? Your feedback on the performance would be helpful.

I think autodesk really needs to get working on this because arm64 is the future of user machines.

Even if we were, that's not the sort of thing we would ever announce on public forums. Insider, maybe, since that's under NDA.