Brave, a relatively popular privacy-focused browser based on Chromium, has launched a native version for Windows on ARM. It is now available in the stable channel, giving users a non-mainstream alternative to Chrome and Edge with all the necessary optimizations.
Windows computers with ARM chips can run any modern browser, even if it does not support ARM natively. However, emulation comes with some notable downsides, such as worse performance, inferior compatibility, and higher energy consumption. Developers can get rid of all that nastiness by optimizing their projects for ARM. That is just what Brave developers did.
ARM64 Brave on Windows is now stable and offers native performance. You also get to enjoy the same features we offer on x64/x86 like Widevine, IPFS, Tor.
— Mihai 🎯 (@mihaiplesa) February 2, 2024
Get it from our GitHub, Microsoft Store or https://t.co/P6Wzhbd5iw
With the latest release for Windows on ARM, the Brave browser joined Mozilla and Microsoft in the list of browsers offering native versions for ARM. Chrome will follow suit soon. Google recently released the first ARM version of Chrome Canary, finally making ARM-friendly the most popular browser in the world.
You can download Brave from its official website. The browser is also available in the Microsoft Store and on GitHub. For those tired of mainstream browsers and their questionable practices, Brave offers the same level of compatibility paired with improved privacy controls and advanced built-in features, such as ad-blocker, VPN, private search, and more. There are even additional services and apps that let you make free video calls, create customizable news feeds, and more.
With Qualcomm planning to launch its new Snapdragon X Elite platform for Windows PCs, it is great to see more developers joining the ranks of apps optimized for ARM64. Windows on ARM is not a new thing (it was announced almost eight years ago), but it seems like it is just about to get some notable traction.