Simultaneously, the competition was heating up. Valve was pushing the Steam Deck (Linux-based), and Qualcomm was preparing to launch the Snapdragon X Elite chips, which promised to finally rival Apple’s M-series. For these new chips to succeed, the software ecosystem needed to be accessible.

Windows 11 ARM ISOs are officially available for download, primarily for creating virtual machines (VMs) or performing clean installations on ARM-based hardware like (Snapdragon X Elite/Plus) and Apple Silicon Macs (M1-M4). 1. Getting the ISO

Windows RT looked like Windows, but it ran on ARM chips (specifically the NVIDIA Tegra 3). The catastrophic flaw was that it could not run any existing Windows software. It was locked down tight. You could only use the "Modern UI" apps from the Microsoft Store. There was no ISO to install; it came pre-baked on devices like the Surface RT. If you bought one, you realized quickly that your legacy apps didn't work, and you were stuck. This burned the bridge between Microsoft and ARM for nearly a decade.