- Microsoft launches the Windows Dev Kit 2023 (Project Voltera) computer.
- The device has an ARM CPU, 32GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD.
- It’s designed for developers, but anyone can purchase one.
Microsoft introduces a new computing device similar to the Mac mini design from Apple. It’s called the “Windows Dev Kit 2023” (previously known as Project Voltera), and as the name implies, it’s a computer designed for developers to build ARM-based applications for Windows 11. Although the device is for developers, anyone can purchase this mini-computer that runs on an ARM processor.
The Windows Dev Kit 2023 includes a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC (System on a Chip) processor with 32GB of memory and 512GB of internal storage. The device also has various ports, including five USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports distributed at the front and rear. You will also find a Mini DisplayPort and an Ethernet port in the back.
The Mac mini-like PC also features a neural processing unit (NPU) that allows developers to build and run machine learning and AI tasks.
Alongside the hardware, Microsoft is also working to bring its development tools to the ARM platform. For example, .NET 7 has been updated with performance improvements for this architecture. Visual Studio 2022 now runs natively on Windows 11 for ARM. The Windows App SDK is now available on ARM, and there’s even a preview of Visual C++ for the platform. Other non-development applications that can natively run on ARM include Office, Microsoft Edge, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams.
In addition to these applications, the company says it’s working to port other frameworks, tools, and apps for the version of Windows 11 that runs on ARM. However, until these tools become available, developers can use emulation to run virtually any x86 and x64 applications.
The Windows Dev Kit 2023 mini computer is available now from the Microsoft Store in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, China, France, Germany, and Japan for $600.
