MacBook Neo Proves Windows on ARM's Original Vision Was Right
Steven Sinofsky says Apple's MacBook Neo nails what Windows 8 attempted over a dozen years ago with ARM.
Former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky is blown away by Apple's MacBook Neo — and a little haunted by it. The device, he says, validates the exact vision Microsoft chased with Windows 8 more than twelve years ago.
That vision: a full computing experience running on ARM architecture. Microsoft got there first conceptually but never fully delivered. The reason? An unwillingness to break from x86 compatibility.
Sinofsky argues that Microsoft's commitment to legacy x86 support has hobbled Windows on ARM from the start and continues to hold it back today. Apple, unburdened by that backward-compatibility baggage, simply shipped the thing.
The MacBook Neo stands as proof that the ARM-based laptop future Microsoft once imagined is very real. Apple just executed it without the compromise.