Windows on Arm: Now Worn on Your Wrist

The Pixel Watch 3 launches with Microsoft's operating system in yet another example of unnecessary innovation.

Windows on ARM has been present since the Surface RT days – but this version is an entirely different beast....

We love a bit of innovative craziness here at Vulture Towers, and the concept of having Windows run on an Android smartwatch surely fits that bill. Introducing Windows on ARM, an encouraging initiative brought forth by Gustave Monce.

He has named his project "Windows on ARM (ARM as per the Cambridge Dictionary definition, not the company from Cambridge)." While the use of all caps for 'ARM' might be somewhat confusing, we appreciate the commitment to the humor intended here.

The project was, understandably, unveiled on April Fools' Day; however, since then, he has included a note at the top of the page.

Monce is a PhD candidate based in Bordeaux who has experience making Windows function on hardware not initially designed for it. Earlier, he initiated the DuoWOA project to enable Arm64 Windows 11 on Microsoft’s Surface Duo—a two-screen gadget that was first released with Android operating system. In May 2022, The Register covered his progress; they provided an update in October showing that Monce had successfully implemented Wi-Fi and mobile data functionality. Additionally, he runs another initiative known as LumiaWOA, aimed at installing a complete, unencumbered version of either Windows 10 or 11 onto the Nokia Lumia 950 and 950XL smartphones. These models were equipped with Windows 10 Mobile, the last iteration of the former Windows Phone platform.

Even though it may not seem significant now, we believe he intends to do something with it. Monce is working with an Arm64 version of Windows Preinstallation Environment. This acronym stands for Preinstallation Environment – essentially, it’s Microsoft's counterpart to a Linux live ISO. A well-known variant of WinPE is Hiren's Boot CD, which we have previously highlighted here as a helpful recovery option.

Instead of setting up a complete local version of Windows, he’s convincing his Google Pixel Watch 3 – an impressively equipped Android smartwatch announced by Mountain View back in August – to launch a WinPE image via UEFI. This process involves initially installing UEFI and subsequently enabling USB mass-storage mode. However, the challenging final step—installing the operating system onto the watch—is still lacking detailed instructions. As he mentions:

Still, it’s rather remarkable. Perhaps impressively futile, but noteworthy nonetheless. We’re not opposed to the notion of rooting a smartwatch and installing custom firmware. That said, you might as well just purchase a Pine64 PineTime. ®