Snapdragon X Elite is Qualcomm's high-performance Arm-based processor, specifically tailored for Copilot+ PCs. It excels in AI thanks to a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that can handle up to 45 trillion operations per second, allowing it to efficiently process language models and generative AI tasks locally on the device.
One challenge with Windows on Arm processors like Snapdragon X Elite is that most Windows apps aren't built to work directly on Arm systems. Instead, Windows uses a translation layer to emulate x86_64 architecture.
For the best performance, it's important to use apps that are built to run on Arm systems directly. This is the full list of apps that Qualcomm says work perfectly on the Snapdragon X Elite. If you can't find your favorite app on this list - and we noticed some big omissions - don't worry, more are expected to be added soon.
Productivity
- OneNote
- Word
- Excel
- Outlook
- PowerPoint
- 7-zip
- Acrobat
- Microsoft Journal
- LibreOffice
- Notepad++
- Microsoft Visio
- Drawboard PDF
- PDFCreator
- Cephable
- From Ashampoo: The regular Ashampoo programs, including the Ashampoo app, work on Snapdragon devices. Only programs that come with their own drivers still need to be specifically certified by Microsoft for the new platform. We're currently working on that.
Collaboration
- Microsoft Teams
- Zoom
- OneDrive
- Dropbox
- Cisco WebEx
- Teamviewer
- Microsoft Whiteboard
- Apple iCloud
- CamoStudio
- Viber
- Ring Central
- Slack
Creative
- DaVinci Resolve
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom
- Blender
- Microsoft ClipChamp
- GIMP
- OBS
- Affinity Software
- Paint.NET
- Cyberlink PhotoDirector
- Cyberlink PowerDirector
- Microsoft Photos
- Microsoft Paint
- Shapr3D
- Luminar Neo
- Canva
- CorelDraw
- CapCut
- DJay Pro
Social media
- X (formerly Twitter)
- TikTok
- Snap (Snapchat)
- Facebook Messenger
- Discord
- Wikipedia
- Meta Threads
Multimedia
- Netflix
- Prime Video
- Hulu
- Disney+
- Spotify
- Amazon Music
- Audacity
- VLC Player
- Handbrake
- Windows Media Player
- Pandora Music
- VUDU
- Apple iTunes
Web browsers
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Brave
- Firefox
- Opera
- Vivaldi
Development
- Visual Studio
- Visual Studio Code
- .NET
- Java
- Python
- Unity
- ONNX Runtime
- LLVM
- Docker Desktop
- NodeJS
- Bazel
Endpoint security
- CrowdStrike
- Microsoft Defender
- Trend Micro
- Sophos Intercept X
- Symantec EP
- Palo Alto Networks Cortex
- Cisco Secure Endpoint
- VMware Carbon Black
- BitDefender
- WithSecure Elements
- RSA NetWitness
- WatchGuard
- ESET
- SentinelOne
- Cybereason
Data / Insider risk management
- Microsoft Endpoint DLP
- Symantec DLP
- Cisco Umbrella
- NetSkope CASB
- Tanium Threat Response
- Qualys
- Symantec WSS
- OpenText EnCase
- Forescout
- Absolute Persistence
- Forcepoint
- DTEX
- Rapid7
- Venafi Certificate Mgmt
- Checkpoint Port Protection
- Code42 Incydr
- Comm Vault
IT management
- Microsoft Intune
- Microsoft SCCM
- Microsoft Autopilot
- VMware Workspace One
- Nexthink
- Ivanti LANDESK
- Flexera FNMS
- MobileIron
- UberAgent
- Lakeside SysTrack
- Citrix Endpoint Management
- Egnyte Desktop
Remote access & support
- Cisco AnyConnect
- PA Networks Global Protect
- Zscaler
- Pulse Secure
- F5 Big-IP
- BeyondTrust Remote Support
- CyberArk EPM
- Checkpoint VPN
- NetMotion
- OpenVPN
- TeamViewer
- Wireguard
IT tools and VDI
- VMware Horizon
- BeyondTrust Bomgar
- Code42 Crashplan
- Carbonite Backup
- OpenText MicroFocus
- Bitlocker
- Microsoft PowerToys
- Microsoft SysMon
- CPU-Z
- Azure Virtual Desktop
- PowerShell
- Comm Vault
Although it's a long list there are a number of notable omissions. We're disappointed to see Affinity software and AutoCAD are yet to be supported, and our favorite VPN, NordVPN, is also highly conspicuous by its absence.
Thankfully, a spokesperson for Nord Security told us, "We are building an Arm-native NordVPN application and the launching process is on the final stages. We are now in close cooperation with Microsoft to receive driver signing certificate. We expect to release the application in the near future."
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