Microsoft releases OpenCL and OpenGL compatibility pack for Windows 10 ARM
The first reviews of the MacBook and Mac Mini based on the Apple M1 chip with ARM architecture showed superiority over previous computers of the same families based on Intel x86 chips. On the other hand, despite the earlier release of products like the Surface Pro X, Microsoft still hasn’t achieved widespread adoption of Windows 10 ARM. But now the steps in this direction will certainly be more decisive.
The most important issue for Windows 10 ARM is application compatibility (for example, until now emulation only supports 32-bit x86 software). In addition, until recently, Windows 10 ARM did not support OpenCL and OpenGL. Fortunately, this is a thing of the past: Microsoft recently introduced its DirectX 12 mapping layers with Collabora for open APIs that lack full driver support.
According to the Microsoft Developer Blog, the Windows 10 ARM Compatibility Pack is finally available to users and developers. In particular, the recently presented beta version of Adobe Photoshop, compiled for the ARM architecture, uses this DirectX 12 compatibility mode to execute OpenCL and OpenGL code on Windows 10 ARM.
The Compatibility Pack is available for download via the Microsoft App Store to anyone using Windows 10 ARM. It needs to be installed along with the Qualcomm DirectX 12 driver for the ARM version of Photoshop to run and be able to use this GPU-accelerated hardware acceleration for a number of effects.
The OpenCL / OpenGL Compatibility Pack is currently only used in the beta version of Photoshop, but Windows Insider users can download a test version of the Compatibility Pack. It allows you to run any application developed for OpenCL 1.2, OpenGL 3.3, and earlier versions of these APIs. The latest version of Windows 10 ARM is required.
