I still can’t believe I use an Arm-powered Windows laptop on a daily basis. After more than a decade of trying to make Windows on Arm a reality, Microsoft and Qualcomm finally succeeded this year with the Copilot Plus PCs. These new laptops have excellent battery life and performance – and the app compatibility issues that plagued Windows on Arm are mostly a thing of the past (as long as you’re not a gamer). Microsoft wanted 2024 to be “the year of the AI ​​PC,” but I think it was really the year of Windows on Arm. If 2024 is anything to go by, 2025 will be even more important for Windows on Arm.

Microsoft set the stage for 2024 Windows on Arm announcements in January at CES with promises of AI PCs and the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years. Laptop makers began installing a Copilot key on their keyboards earlier this year, providing quick access to Microsoft’s AI assistant. Although the Copilot experience on Windows has gone through several confusing revisions, it’s still a key I accidentally press and then get frustrated when a Copilot window pops up.

After the Copilot key received a mixed reception, Microsoft reignited the Mac vs. PC war a few months later. Within Microsoft, confidence has gradually grown over the first months of 2024 that it could finally beat Apple’s MacBook Air after lagging behind for years. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed the company’s new Copilot Plus PC devices at a special event in May, setting the stage for a summer of Windows on Arm laptops from every major OEM.

The key to Windows on Arm’s revival this year has been Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processors, announced in April. They delivered the kind of performance and power efficiency that was previously only available with Apple’s MacBooks and challenged Intel and AMD to do better in the x86 space. After much debate about the performance of Microsoft’s MacBook Air, reviews were released and showed that Windows on Arm was indeed capable of matching and beating Apple’s MacBook Air. Qualcomm even hired the “I’m a Mac” guy to promote Windows on Arm PCs, showing how confident it was in its ability to challenge Apple’s dominance in laptops.

Microsoft and Qualcomm have also worked closely with developers to make key applications compatible, and it is now very rare to encounter an application compatibility issue that cannot be resolved by a native Arm64 build or by the enhanced emulator from Microsoft. Even Google, which had previously shunned Windows Phone, created Arm64 versions of Chrome and Google Drive to support Microsoft’s efforts. With developers continually providing native versions of their apps, it’s much easier to upgrade to a Windows on Arm laptop. The one big exception is gaming, where x86 still reigns supreme in terms of compatibility and performance.

Intel hasn’t stood still during all this Windows on Arm hype, nor has AMD. Intel fought back with Lunar Lake at IFA in September, delivering impressive performance and battery life improvements. AMD’s latest Ryzen AI chips also compete directly with Qualcomm, and both AMD and Intel have the key advantage of gaming compatibility that Windows on Arm is definitely not ready for.

While we’re still waiting for an M4-powered MacBook Air, Apple refreshed its cheapest MacBooks in October with a surprise upgrade to 16GB of RAM. Apple would probably say it’s related to Apple Intelligence, but the unusual change came months after the launch of Copilot Plus PCs, with a minimum of 16GB of RAM at prices that challenge the MacBook Air. Apple recently managed to integrate its new M4 chip into the MacBook Pro, showing that Qualcomm has ground to make up in 2025.

Both Apple and Microsoft have focused on AI-based features for laptops this year, and the end results have been disappointing on both sides. While much of the initial buzz about Copilot Plus PC was about Windows on Arm, Microsoft also rolled out some Windows AI features to those devices in June.

The flagship feature was supposed to be Recall, a feature that captures almost everything you do on a laptop, then lets you recall moments or scroll through a timeline of how you’ve used your PC. But as Recall encountered privacy and security issues, undermining Microsoft Copilot Plus PC’s entire marketing efforts, Microsoft was forced to delay Recall several times to improve its security. In fact, it only recently appeared in test versions of Windows.

However, I don’t think Microsoft’s struggles with Recall will mean the company will slow down its Windows AI efforts. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri recently told me that the very future of Windows lies in the cloud and AI, so expect a lot more of that in 2025.

Next year will also be a fascinating battle between x86 and Windows on Arm. AMD and Intel are teaming up to push back against Qualcomm’s Arm chips, and Intel is facing a period of turmoil following the ouster of its CEO, desktop chip woes and a wave of layoffs earlier this year.

It’s hard not to see 2025 as the year Windows on Arm continues to eat into the laptop space. A leak from Dell revealed that Qualcomm is preparing new chips for 2025, and the chipmaker has also been rolling out cheaper Arm chips to drive down laptop prices. I’d expect we’ll see more of these at CES in January, alongside the usual round of laptops that set the stage for the year.

Dell’s leak also hinted at Nvidia’s next-generation GPU plans, which now appear ready to be announced at CES. Leaks suggest we’ll see RTX 50 series desktop GPUs and even laptop variants, with OEMs rumor has it that she is preparing new models to show at CES. Given the state of Windows on Arm gaming, a new generation of Nvidia GPUs could help generate new excitement around x86 laptops throughout 2025.

Nvidia may also be considering contributing to the Windows on Arm effort. The chipmaker has the rumor has been circulating for a long time plans to launch Arm PC chips as early as 2025. Nvidia’s expertise in AI chips and gaming could certainly shake up the world of Windows laptops and make Windows on Arm even more attractive.

Whatever happens to laptops in 2025, you can guarantee there will be fierce competition between Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. This should make for an exciting year in the world of Windows laptops.