Abstract:
Adobe is further expanding its creative software’s support for the Windows on Arm platform. With the launch of native ARM64 versions of InDesign and InCopy, Windows computers using Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors will be able to directly run these two professional typesetting software, no longer needing to rely on the traditional x86 simulation environment. At the same time, Adobe is also working with Microsoft and NVIDIA to bring more artificial intelligence and creative processing capabilities to the new generation of Windows devices.
This update involves Adobe InDesign 22.0 and InCopy 22.0. Both software now support Windows on Arm and can run directly on devices equipped with Snapdragon X series processors. Native ARM64 applications can directly call the processor instruction set to avoid the additional overhead caused by simulation operations. In theory, it can improve startup speed, responsiveness and overall operating efficiency.
For the professional publishing and design industry, InDesign is an important page layout tool under Adobe and is widely used to produce magazines, books, brochures, product catalogs and various publications. InCopy is mainly used for editors and designers to work together, allowing editors to modify text content while trying to avoid interfering with the page layout that the designer has completed. Both software natively support the ARM platform, which means that the scope of application of Windows ARM computers in professional publishing workflows has been further expanded.
However, there are still some limitations at this stage. The minimum processor requirement announced by Adobe is Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 and requires support for the AVX2 instruction set. The operating system requires Windows 11 24H2 or higher and the corresponding system updates installed. In addition, the Windows on Arm version of Creative Cloud Desktop currently does not support extensions and plug-ins, so users are temporarily unable to install related extensions through the plug-in function in Stock & Marketplace.
Adobe also reminds you that if Windows ARM devices need to import HEIC or HEIF format images, they must also install the HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions provided by Microsoft. Some users may encounter error code 0xc0000142 when launching the software. Adobe recommends updating Windows 11 to a system version that meets the minimum version requirements.
This software update is also related to the recent expansion of cooperation between Adobe and NVIDIA. The two parties are optimizing creative applications such as Photoshop, Premiere and Substance 3D Painter for the NVIDIA RTX Spark platform to make full use of its GPU computing power and unified memory architecture. Adobe said that the redesigned and optimized applications can achieve faster AI processing, image editing, color processing and special effects operations on high-performance ARM architecture Windows devices.
Among them, Photoshop redesigned part of the underlying processing architecture for ARM devices, focusing on improving GPU accelerated synthesis and image processing capabilities. For example, the removal tool can leverage local generative AI to more quickly remove distracting objects from photos and generate content that matches its surroundings. Adobe is also developing a new compositing architecture to improve real-time filters, HDR processing, and brush manipulation experiences.
Premiere focuses on optimizing the video playback, rendering, special effects and color correction processes. Adobe specifically mentioned features such as Enhance Speech voice enhancement and Object Mask, which can use NVIDIA accelerated computing technology to achieve performance improvements on the RTX Spark platform. For users who need to perform complex video post-production, the optimized processing process is expected to reduce waiting time.
Substance 3D Painter has also been optimized for RTX Spark. This software is mainly used for 3D model texture rendering. When processing complex models, large texture sets, and mesh map baking, it has high requirements on GPU and memory resources. Adobe hopes that through optimization, thin and light ARM laptops can also undertake some 3D production tasks that originally required workstations.
It is worth noting that Windows on Arm and RTX Spark are not exactly the same technical concepts. The former refers to the platform form of Windows running on ARM processors, while RTX Spark is a hardware platform launched by NVIDIA for the new generation of AI and creative computing devices. After the two are combined, ARM-based computers can simultaneously gain support from the Windows software ecosystem and NVIDIA CUDA, RTX and other computing technologies.
It can be seen from Adobe’s update that Windows on Arm is gradually getting rid of its past positioning of mainly relying on light office applications. As professional typesetting software begins to run natively, video editing, image processing, and 3D production tools continue to be optimized for the ARM platform. Microsoft, Adobe, and NVIDIA are jointly promoting the expansion of Windows ARM devices into professional creation and local AI computing.
However, native support does not mean that all features are fully mature. Plug-in compatibility, third-party extensions, and some professional workflows still need further improvement. For designers who rely on specific plug-ins and working environments, they still need to confirm that the software components they use can run properly before migrating to ARM devices.
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