Hello everybody,
the new Microsoft Surface Pro X will be released in November 2019. According to the specifications, Microsoft uses an ARM processor.
Can I buy this without hesitation?
The Xojo IDE doesnt run on ARM. Xojo-built apps run on ARM32, not ARM64.
According to this Microsoft page, the provided OS is Windows 10 Home and you can only run 32 bit X86 applications on this device. 64 bit ARM and 32 bit ARM applications would also run.
Some X86 drivers will not run.
Right now, I am very hesitant to buy this type of device. Better wait until more reviews and customer experience is available.
Xojo builds can run on Linux ARM-32-bit. I’m not sure about microsoft ARM… perhaps ask @Michel Bujardet if ti’s possible to emulate or convert the binary?
Edit more info:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/apps-on-arm-x86-emulation
So it SHOULD be possible!
the IDE itself would not run as its not X86 but x86-64
WTF? Really?
No
NO, xojo ide is a 64 bit app
Maybe, but not for shure. AS other said, this new ARM processor will use an emulation to run x86 apps. Xojo can build those. But, who knows, could be plenty of compatibility issues.
you’d probably be better off with a surface pro 7 which still uses an intel processor
I’ve never done that kind of low-level compiler related programming, but is there a lot of difference (or work) to have Xojo build for ARM-based Windows applications, as opposed to the Linux ARM option?
Just curious, because Microsoft’s brand of computers is pretty popular with the corporate types and if they’re cranking out ARM hardware now, it’ll be something we’ll need to provide for eventually…
They’re gaining in popularity in the “Creative” industry also, but I can’t figure out why. I mean I thought no-one wanted a laptop or desktop with Touch / Pen capabilities.
I use the pen all the time when doing rough sketches of process engineering diagrams. Fellow colleagues take notes directly on their computers. Skype meetings are fantastic with touch/pen capabilities, plus you can have others draw on your diagram in real-time during a meeting to convey a difficult process or describe an item. Its really handy.
I also teach reservoir engineering, and the touch/pen feedback from students is very helpful. Both the teacher and the students are engaged. Its even pretty cool.
And shouldn’t 512KB memory be enough for anyone? 
[quote=460134:@Eugene Dakin]I use the pen all the time when doing rough sketches of process engineering diagrams. Fellow colleagues take notes directly on their computers. Skype meetings are fantastic with touch/pen capabilities, plus you can have others draw on your diagram in real-time during a meeting to convey a difficult process or describe an item. Its really handy.
I also teach reservoir engineering, and the touch/pen feedback from students is very helpful. Both the teacher and the students are engaged. Its even pretty cool.[/quote]
Sorry man, I was being sarcastic. I honestly see the value in it, and I especially admire the 28" Surface Studio, the machine specs are a little weak IMHO, but the possibilities with that fat ass touch screen, pen & dial are exciting. Apple have told us that such a product is a bad experience, is bad ergonomically and in the words of Phill Schiller “Absurd”. Clearly people are finding the opposite.
I see there’s some support for the pen from within Xojo, have you tried doing anything with it?
@Sam Rowlands Oops, my apologies Sam. Its hard for me to know when someone is serious or not We are good.
I haven’t tried the pen with Xojo, and I have some work with the touchscreen, and it works quite well and almost acts like a mouse.
The really interesting part that I am going to try is to use the pen in Excel, where it automatically updates the information with the numbers written by the pen. When I am helping a room of engineers with some problems, there are often Excel simulations that are used and the pen would speed up the ‘what if’ scenarios.
The cool part was when I was teaching remotely, and the students were in different cities. The students could markup the slide, or add values into the simulation and it would be updated on my computer in real-time.
I am really missing the DirectX plugin functionality for Xojo. There was a plugin back in version 5.5 or so and it worked great. 3D Graphics, sound, camera, and videos are largely dependent on DirectX, and I am sure that my fellow Windows programmers would like the functionality. But, thats’ for another day.
I believe a lot of Win32 software will run on these devices thanks to Microsofts’ x86-Win32-Emulator. But I see a strong evidence, that some will break when expecting X86 schemes and folders. For instance ARM 64 Bit programs are not installed in c:/program files (64Bit Intel) or c:/program files (x86) (32 Bit Intel) but in c:/program files (ARM). I wonder if and where Microsoft puts 32Bit ARM programs 
Some benchmarks esp. on Snapdragon ARMs show great differences in performance. For basic Office users the performance seems to be “good enough” but as soon as you try to watch 4K videos or to deal with RAW pictures or if you ty to compile programs then the performance may vary and in some cases is far behind Intel i3 standards.
Since Xojo doesnt have a compiler engineer at the moment Id say its a lot of work. That aside, it would be non-trivial but given that the Xojo parser feeds a code generator that outputs LLVM IL and, presumably, LLVM can target ARM I imagine its certainly doable for Xojo if they wanted to.
It is not the first time Microsoft tries to force feed users a “Surface” with an ARM processor and limited capabilities.
It has always been a dismal commercial failure.
Actually, Surface Pro picked up when it became a true, full featured PC.
I am afraid Microsoft is on it’s way to repeat errors of the past. Even an emulator won’t cut it for most PC users. Wait until horror stories surface (pun intended) about popular software not running properly, or at all.
I am actually apprehensive, since they are opening the new ARM platform to my applications in the Windows Store. Damn, I won’t buy a new Microsoft tablet for the relatively small market it represents. But I will no doubt get angry customers on the phone. “I bought it in the Windows Store. How come it does not run ?”. Sadly enough, there is no refund in the Windows Store, contrary to the MAS. So users will be kicked to the curb 
It is not as if Windows tablets where in short supply. Just type “Windows tablet” in Amazon, and you find dozens available.
FWIW, we have multiple engineers on staff that do work on the compiler.