Copilot+ PCs and other Windows devices running on Arm processors are about to get a big boost. Adobe’s Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, and Media Encoder now have native ARM64 versions available in public preview.
Many Snapdragon X-powered PCs have earned positive reviews, but those devices are held back by app compatibility. Arm (the company) shared earlier this year that users spend over 90% of their time on Windows on Arm PCs using native apps, but there are some noteworthy omissions.
That figure refers to how people use Arm-based PCs they already have. It doesn’t address the fact that some people will not purchase or use a PC with an Arm-based chip due to compatibility issues.
I’m not sure I’d call the situation an app “gap” since Microsoft’s Prism emulation lets you run many non-native apps. But there are some programs that either perform poorly when emulated or are not available at all on Windows on Arm PCs.
Adobe’s creative apps have been one of the most glaring omissions. Adobe pledged full support for Windows on Arm in May of 2024, but it took some time for the company to get its apps ready to run natively on Arm-based processors.
Arm-native, with limits
Adobe’s new native Arm apps are a welcome addition to the growing catalog of the best native Windows on Arm apps. There are, however, some limits on the creative applications when running on a PC with an Arm-based processor.
Adobe notes that the following features in Premiere Pro will not ship to the native Arm version of the app:
- Loudness Radar effect (Loudness Meter is a replacement for Loudness Radar)
- Export to Wraptor DCP
- Import and export of the GoPro CineForm codec
- Export to the P2 Movie format
Those limitations will remain even when the app exits beta testing. There are also several features unavailable during the public preview testing that will ship in a future release.
Support for third-party extensions will ship to the Arm-native version of Premiere Pro in the future, as will support for ProRes and several other formats. Raw video files from several types of devices will also not be supported in the Arm-native app until later.
The situation is similar with Audition, which will not support GoPro CineForm or Loudness Radar effect even in its final Arm-native version. That version of Audition will also gain support for several additional formats and third-party extensions in the future.
Loudness Radar effect, Export to Wraptor DCP, GoPro CineForm, and exporting to P2 Movie format will not ship to the Arm-native version of Media Encoder, but like its Adobe siblings, the app will soon support third-party apps and several more formats.
The Arm-native version of After Effects does not appear to have the same limitations as the other apps. Adobe lists features that will ship in the future but does not mention any that will be unavailable in the Arm version.
