Windows 10 is now running on a Samsung Galaxy S8 – and other Android phones
Windows 10 for ARM is spotted on the S8 and Xiaomi Mi6
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Windows 10 for ARMhas been spotted running onSamsung’s Galaxy S8smartphone, and other handsets powered by Snapdragon 835 chips besides.
AsWindows Latestreports, now that a memory leak bug inWindows 10forARMwhich affected Snapdragon 835 processors has been resolved,Microsoft’s OS can successfully be installed on phones using this chip.
And this has led to a bunch of developers getting theoperating systemon the Galaxy S8 as mentioned – the work of Evsio0n, who posted the results on Twitter – as well as other devs reportedly getting Microsoft’s OS going on the Xiaomi Mi6, Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, and OnePlus 6.
pic.twitter.com/OdDSy4fr9tApril 13, 2020
That said, there are serious caveats in havingWindows 10for ARM ‘running’ on these phones, meaning that it does boot up and work – which it didn’t before, thanks to the now cured memory leak – but you can’t do much of practical use with it. It’s more about what’s possible, at this point, rather than what’s useful.
A great deal of Windows is unusable on these phones currently, including touch functionality, and the camera, sensors and so forth.
Lumia success
You may recall earlier projects to get Windows 10 for ARM working on the Lumia 950 XL, for example, which offered up much more functionality – as well asfull tutorials on how to pull off the process yourself. The devs working on these Snapdragon 835 phones haven’t yet shared any guides on what to do, or any details at all on how they achieved their progress thus far, but that’s not really surprising at this very early stage.
Nonetheless, it’s still interesting to see a version of Windows 10 running on a Galaxy S8, and more compelling possibilities may be in the pipeline, as Windows Latest hints – like dual-booting Windows 10 for ARM and Android.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
Windows 10 for ARM runs on what Microsoft calls ‘always connected’ PCs, laptops with Snapdragon chips (offering cellular connectivity), hence the possibility to sidestep to Snapdragon-powered Android handsets.
Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).
Windows 11’s Paint and Notepad apps are getting smart new AI features – though one of the best will be for Copilot+ PCs only
Windows 11 24H2 misery continues, as Microsoft’s buggy update is now breaking printers – especially on Copilot+ PCs
Washington state court systems taken offline following cyberattack
