Popular VPN service ExpressVPN today announced the availability of its app for Windows on ARM PCs. With this release, all the new Qualcomm Snapdragon-based Copilot+ PCs can now run the ExpressVPN app.
At first, ExpressVPN planned to develop an ARM-native application. But they changed their plans following the release of Microsoft’s new Prism emulator in the recent Windows 11 24H2 upgrade. The new Prism emulator can run x86 apps with performance comparable to a native build. Even though ExpressVPN"s UI and backend run in emulated mode, their engineers completely rebuilt the driver for their Lightway protocol to work with ARM machines. This hybrid, semi-native approach allowed ExpressVPN to bring a high-quality VPN experience to Windows on ARM PCs.
Apart from a fast and secure VPN server network, ExpressVPN for Windows on ARM can auto-reconnect if your VPN connection is interrupted, prevent apps from sharing your activity with trackers, block ads, and more. The newly modified auto-updater can now check for updates more efficiently.
Peter Membrey, Chief Engineering Officer, at ExpressVPN said:
“Snapdragon is one of the most exciting things to happen to the Windows platform in recent times, and we saw this as an opportunity to showcase a high-performance VPN solution tailored for ARM"s capabilities. By leveraging Microsoft"s enhanced emulation and Lightway"s adaptable architecture, we were able to solve for initial limitations and deliver this build efficiently. We’re proud to be one of the first major VPN providers to demonstrate our commitment to this platform, and we will continue to optimize Lightway and our software to ensure that users can enjoy the best that Snapdragon, Microsoft and ExpressVPN have to offer.”
Himmat Bains, Head of Product, Desktop Apps, at ExpressVPN said:
“While we initially planned a native ARM application, the enhanced capabilities of Microsoft’s latest Prism emulator in Windows 11 24H2 allowed us to pivot our approach. The emulator’s performance has reached a level that is now directly comparable to a native build—it just made sense for us to leverage it. With this release, we’re thrilled to be at the forefront of VPN technology on ARM-based machines with Microsoft and Qualcomm, and we look forward to further innovations this collaboration will bring.”
You can download the ExpressVPN beta app for Windows on ARM PCs here. The non-beta version of the app will be available in October.