This Windows Development Kit is the Mac mini of PCs.

Windows 2023 SDK, a very interesting Arm mini PC. For developers, but not only.

Apple has had a lot of success with its M chips. These SoCs are now used in almost all Macs. But Apple isn’t the only tech giant eyeing the Arm architecture. Microsoft also wants to start and is pushing the development of Arm for Windows. That’s the reason the Redmond-based firm released its first Arm-based computer: the Windows 2023 Development Kit (SDK).

Windows 2023 SDK, a very interesting Arm mini PC

Codenamed Project Volterra, this machine is powered by a Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 processor with a matching Adreno GPU. It comes with 32GB LPDDR4x RAM, 512GB NVMe storage, 2 USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 3 USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a Mini DisplayPort, and an Ethernet port. There is also a built-in NPU for algorithms using machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Microsoft is offering this machine for €699, €100 less than the entry-level Mac mini with the M1 chip. This device is, of course, equipped with an M1 chip, an octa-core CPU and GPU, and a 16-core NPU. At the same time, it has only 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal memory. From the ports: Ethernet, 2 Thunderbolt USB-C 4 ports, 2 USB-A 3.1 Gen 2 ports and a headphone jack.

Specifications by themselves mean little. Apple has proven the potential of its M1 chip since its introduction, even with just 8GB of RAM. The M1 chip does a lot better than the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3. Even with Windows in a virtual machine. The M1 chip wins in the single-core test and nearly matches the 8cx Gen 3 in the multi-core test.

For developers, but not only

Still, for a Windows mini-machine under Arm, this development kit is very interesting. Microsoft offers it to software developers, but anyone can buy it. In this case, we are talking about testing and creating software for the Arm architecture. Arm is growing fast and there are still many apps and games that are not optimized or platform compatible. By creating such a development kit, Microsoft hopes to increase the share of native Arm applications.

Currently, there are not many alternatives to this type of machine. We could refer to Beelink GT4 5, but it is equipped with AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX. For Arm in this format and power, there is ultimately only the Mac mini M1.

And even if that’s not Microsoft’s intention, we’ll soon find benchmarks for this machine. If the reviews are positive, Microsoft may decide to officially offer it to the general public… To be continued!