Skip to main content

The Windows transition to Arm just found its missing puzzle piece

The Windows transition to Arm has pushed forward at an impressive clip, with many of the most significant apps having built Arm64 versions. But there’s been one major holdout, even up until Microsoft’s recent Copilot+ announcement.

A little app called Slack.

But good news — Slack has finally decided to release an Arm64 native client.

🆕 Slack is Windows on Arm ready! 🥳
 
Available now in beta, the ARM64 version of @SlackHQ lets you maximize performance on Arm-based hardware.
 
This creates the opportunity for new AI experiences running efficiently on Windows on Arm devices.

More: https://t.co/sugPixYOLr pic.twitter.com/JQqcY421FD

— Arm (@Arm) June 11, 2024

While the improvements to emulation in this new generation seem impressive, this is Slack we’re talking about. This might not sound like the end of the world, but Slack is an important communication and productivity app that people rely on every day to do their jobs, so you can bet not having a native version was annoying. The native version will hopefully deliver top-speed performance that will make the transition to Arm seamless. The beta is available now for anyone with a Windows on Arm device to try out.

The trigger that finally kicked Slack and so many others into action is the upcoming Copilot+ range of Windows on Arm products, which is set to begin the “true” Windows transition to Arm. With plenty of native apps lined up and a new emulation software that promises efficient performance, things are expected to go a lot smoother this time around.

That’s not to say there haven’t been any hiccups, though — one of the main AI features of the Copilot+ PCs, Recall, has been delayed in light of security concerns. But AI hype isn’t everything, and most people will be excited about these Windows on Arm laptops because they’ll have almost double the battery life of x64 and x86 versions. And now all the Slack addicts out there will be free to convert to Arm and enjoy those benefits too.

Willow Roberts
Willow Roberts is a contributor at Digital Trends, specialising in computing topics. She has a particular interest in Apple…
Microsoft has new tools to encourage the transition to ARM PCs
Project Volterra by Microsoft

The transition to ARM chips on Windows has been agonizingly slow, but Microsoft is attempting to put some better tools in the hands of developers to help things along. Just announced at Build 2022, Project Volterra is a new device that shows off the possibilities of ARM chips on Windows.

To be clear -- this isn't a consumer PC. Project Volterra is a developer kit designed to "leverage the power of the Snapdragon Compute Platform," supporting the wide range of scenarios developers can explore.

Read more
Windows 11 just added a highly requested new feature to the taskbar
Windows 11 Woman on Laptop Lifestyle

Microsoft is making it easy for you to mute your microphone when you don't want to be heard on Microsoft Teams calls. Rolling out in the latest Windows 11 Dev Channel build is a new mute icon in the taskbar for when communications apps like Microsoft Teams are in use.

The initial iteration of this icon works as you'd expect, though it is currently only for select Windows 11 beta testers. Instead of having to manually search for the mute button in Teams, you can click the Microphone icon in the Windows 11 taskbar and choose the Mute option. You also can use the icon to see your call audio status and which app is accessing your microphone. The icon will be present all throughout your call, no matter how many windows you have open or what is on your screen.

Read more
Best Buy 4th of July sale: Appliances, TVs, laptops, and more
Digital Trends Best Black Friday Best Buy Deals

It is almost fireworks time and 4th of July deals are here. We're covering 4th of July deals at Best Buy, and they really cover a lot of ground. While there are some obvious points, like gaming laptop 4th of July deals and 4th of July TV sales, the retailer is also known for appliances. And that means even some 4th of July grill deals. Again, there's a lot of ground to cover and shopping all of the deals can be overwhelming. We'll zoom in on our favorite Best Buy deals for the 4th in the full article below, but you can shop everything yourself by tapping the button just below this paragraph.

What you should buy in the Best Buy 4th of July sale
One of the most fun parts of going to the local Best Buy is checking out their TV nook, which is slightly darkened but not so much that you can can't see the effect of any anti-glare properties, if any, the TVs have. As such, we start with some of the best TVs you can find at Best Buy. And, speaking of a little glare, if you have a sunny room you need to check out this deal on a that is our pick for the best Samsung TV for bright rooms. For a premium experience, save $500 off both the 77-inch and 83-inch versions of the . What if the premium stuff is making you feel priced out? Check out this that is 50-inches corner-to-corner, down to just $190 from $300, and has thousands of positive customer reviews.

Read more