Microsoft expands App Assure to bring better compatibility to Snapdragon PCs

Qualcomm and Microsoft are teaming up to encourage more developers to make their apps compatible with Windows on Snapdragon. The companies announced a new App Assure program that will help software makers address the compatibility issues that have plagued ARM-based PCs.

Microsoft first launched App Assure in 2018 to help developers transition Windows 7 apps to Windows 10 before Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 in 2020. Likewise, the latest iteration of App Assure is meant to help app makers optimize for Qualcomm’s mobile processors while building up confidence for end users.

“Microsoft’s App Assure with FastTrack program is a service designed to help customers, developers, and independent software vendors address application compatibility issues, at no additional cost for qualifying customers,” Qualcomm writes in a statement. “A focus of the program will be to engage vendors to deliver compatibility of Windows 10 apps on Snapdragon compute platforms so that users working anywhere can confidently use Windows 10 apps on Snapdragon-powered devices.”

While Qualcomm hasn’t shared more details on what the program will specifically do, Microsoft chief product officer Panos Panay had earlier explained that it would include having the company’s engineers engage with developers to get their apps to work across all of Windows.

Panos teased this program expansion when Qualcomm first introduced the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 earlier this month. He also said that ensuring compatibility was a key priority for Microsoft, which was “putting a lot of energy into this.”