According to foreign media reports, more and more people have begun to try to run Windows 10 on the M1 processor, and the effect is surprisingly good.

Since Macs equipped with M1 chips do not support the Windows operating system and do not have Boot Camp functions similar to those on Intel Macs, developers now use the open source QEMU virtualization software and successfully virtualize the ARM version of Windows on the M1 chip.

According to the developer’s latest statement, the M1 chip is based on the ARM architecture, so it is not possible to install the x86 version of Windows or use Boot Camp to run x86 Windows applications. Windows ARM64 version can run x86 applications normally, but not as fast as Rosetta 2.

It is worth mentioning that the developer installed a custom patch on the QEMU virtualizer, which is known for "achieving close to native performance" by directly executing guest code on the host CPU. This means that Windows 10 ARM can be virtualized on M1 Mac with excellent performance.

Craig Federighi, the former head of software engineering at Apple, said in an interview with the media a few days ago that the current M1 Mac does not support Windows, nor does it have the same Boot Camp function as on the Intel Mac, but many people are expecting that the M1 Mac can support the Windows operating system.

Regarding support for the Windows system, Craig Federighi made it clear that this matter is decided by Microsoft, because the core technology exists and Mac can do it, but Microsoft must decide whether to authorize its ARM-based Windows version to Mac users.

Federighi also mentioned that Windows in the cloud may be a possible future solution. He specifically mentioned CrossOver, which can use Rosetta 2 to run x86 Windows applications on M1 Macs.