Google Drive for Windows gets ARM support in beta for Snapdragon laptops and more

4 days ago 2

Following the arrival of new Snapdragon-powered laptops based on ARM, the Google Drive app for Windows is gaining support for these machines via a new beta release.

Announced via the Google Drive Community, Drive for Windows now has an official ARM release available in beta. This new release brings support for ARM for the first time, as machines based on the new architecture were previously unable to use Drive for Windows at all. Most apps are able to run in an emulated state on ARM systems, but Drive’s integration with files made that a bit more complex.

Google does note that this release is in beta, and should be used with “non-production” data that is also backed up elsewhere as bugs are possible. The new beta release also lacks the Outlook Meet plugin.

We’re pleased to announce the start of the Drive for Desktop beta support on Windows 11 ARM64 devices. This version contains native ARM64 binaries and offers the same functionality as on other platforms, except the Outlook Meet plugin is not available.

Disclaimer: This is a beta version and may contain bugs. It should be used with non-production data only. Alternatively, ensure that your data is backed up separately.

Support for ARM had been teased in September.

Just recently, Google also expanded Quick Share for Windows to ARM-powered machines.