Adobe has released a first public beta version of Premiere Pro that offers native ARM-Windows support. ARM processors have recently become an alternative to the proven Intel/AMD x86 platform under Windows, which has already gained some traction, especially in the laptop and notebook market.
Currently, however, there is only one ARM vendor that is officially supported under Windows: Qualcomm with its Snapdragon X processors. The biggest problem with the new platform is that non-native ARM programs are executed relatively slowly under Intel emulation - or do not run at all.
This also applies to parts or functions of Premiere Pro that currently do not work under ARM (but are to be added in the future). These include:
- Support for ProRes (also for Proxies)
- Import and Export of JPEG2000 in MXF
- Import of MotionJPEG and MKV
- Hardware-accelerated playback and export of H.264 and HEVC in MP4
- Support for various RAW formats (Apple ProRes RAW, ARRI ARRIRAW, Canon Cinema RAW Light, Sony X-OCN/RAW).
Support for many third-party extensions (including plugins and audio plugins) is also missing so far. In addition, the following functions are not to be implemented in the Windows/ARM version at all in the future:
- Loudness Radar effect (Loudness Meter is a replacement for Loudness Radar)
- Export to Wraptor DCP
- Import and Export of the GoPro CineForm codec
- Export to the P2 film format
The new Qualcomm processors offer competitive performance and efficiency, but this is not groundbreaking compared to AMD/Intel so far. The Qualcomm models are also not noticeably cheaper than the X86 counterparts in terms of price - current, comparable devices from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Honor, Microsoft, Samsung or Xiaomi are occasionally even more expensive.
In addition, there is no larger desktop or even workstation platform with ARM processors, which is why no GPU acceleration with Nvidia or AMD PCIe cards is possible.
As such, Premiere Pro for ARM/Windows remains just a nice option for owners of corresponding laptops for the time being. Serious Premiere users under Windows will certainly continue to opt for an Intel or AMD platform when buying a new computer.
;)