Exclusive agreement between Qualcomm and Microsoft Windows on ARM will expire soon

As reported by XDA, it looks like the exclusivity agreement between Qualcomm and Microsoft’s Windows operating system on ARM will expire “soon”. Although Windows on ARM was originally announced by Microsoft in 2016, no other chipset maker aside from Qualcomm has been able to release a natively compatible chipset for the ARM-based operating system. Even Samsung’s Galaxy Book series running Windows on ARM uses Snapdragon processors made by Qualcomm. Microsoft and Qualcomm have also had a close relationship in the past, dating back to the days of the Windows Phone when Qualcomm-based chips were used exclusively.

One of the first competitors, MediaTek, has signaled plans to develop Windows-compatible processors on ARM according to the report. As the interest of other organizations becomes more widely known to the public, Qualcomm has had an edge with its experience over the years and with its intention to create its own custom silicon through the acquisition of Nuvia.

Although the exclusivity agreement will expire soon, no specific date has been given. However, once the agreement expires, it could very well be that Macs based on Apple Silicon will finally receive native Windows support on ARM.