Key Takeaways
- Microsoft released Windows 11 Arm64 ISOs for direct download, a significant step for Windows on Arm.
- Google Drive for Desktop now supports Arm64 PCs with native binaries, but lacks Outlook Meet functionality.
- Users will need Windows 11 and WebView2 to run Google Drive on their Arm64 PCs.
Microsoft releasing Windows 11 Arm64 ISOs for direct download for the first time in its history marked a significant milestone for Windows on Arm. Windows tinkerers and enthusiasts might still be excited as it enables the installation of Windows on a variety of Arm hardware. If this doesn’t feel like enough of a win for Arm PCs, Google has announced native support for Google Drive for desktops on Arm64 PCs, giving yet another boost to Windows on Arm platform.
Google Drive for Desktop now supports Arm64 PCs, but there is a catch
If you’re thorough with the steps to set up Google Drive on Windows, you won’t face any challenges in installing it on your Arm PCs. That’s because it’s the same Google Drive you know, except that it now has native Arm64 binaries to be compatible with Arm64. You’ll also find all the functionalities that you’ll find on other Google Drive clients, except for the Outlook Meet plugin. That’s probably because Google Drive for Windows on Arm is currently available only in beta.
The missing Outlook Meet plugin will surely limit what you can do on Google Drive. For instance, setting up a video call won’t be as simple as in the x64 version of the app, which allows users to add Google Meet links to their Outlook Calendar with a single click. And, of course, since this is a beta release, you might also face data loss and other bugs while using it. That’s why Google recommends using it with data that’s not important. You should also back up data that you can’t afford to lose.
What do you need to run Google Drive on your Arm64 PCs?
If you just got an Arm PC, you won’t need anything more to be able to test the Google Drive app on your PC. That’s because there are only two key requirements: Windows 11 and WebView2. The WebView2 component is already installed on your device. So, unless you removed it, or it’s missing for some reason, you won’t have to do anything more other than get the Google Drive beta download link and install it on your PC.
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