So this is kind-of cool. The ASUS ZenFone 2 is based around an Intel Atom processor, which uses an x86 processor. Its performance is not comparable to a Haswell PC with discrete graphics, but the machine language will correctly guide voltages through the appropriate logic and end up in the proper memory locations. This means software that doesn't require high performance (or access to more advanced hardware) can run without translating the instruction set, which is harsh on performance.
Note that “more advanced hardware” could refer to something as simple as a floppy drive, which is not required to be classified as an x86 device but might be required for seemingly trivial software.
In this case, someone decided to load Windows 7 on ASUS' smartphone. It technically runs in an emulator but, as stated before, it does not need to translate the underlying instruction set. Even though it's a cute project, I wonder if it's possible to boot some version of Windows on an Intel mobile platform. Of course, it's not enough curiosity to make me research the BIOS standards and make an actual informed statement.
Ok, Scott, do the research,
Ok, Scott, do the research, learn, answer: is this a thing?!?!?!? Cuz I just got so excited by this story that I have to change my pants, (no not feces) I must know about x86 phone BIOS, this is sooooooo cool, “Why?” “Why the fuck not?” This is as cool as that stories of those guys who got dos 6.2.2 and win 3.1 working (x86 emulated) on an iwatch. Completely useless but SOOOOOO FUCKING COOOOOOL!!!!!!
Could be a nice option for
Could be a nice option for tablet users. For some reason x86 Android tablets can be small and light, while Windows ones are typically bulky.
What excites me most about
What excites me most about this is Windows 10, and Continuum for phone. If these processors are truly x86 compatible, and they must be, that means when I plug my phone into a bug screen and see a desktop, I can run true Windows apps. Even if that’s just used as a portal to a Terminal Server or to access virtualized apps, it could be an absolute game changer.
What aload of crap, you have
What aload of crap, you have been able to run Windows in an emulator on a phone since before Android or iPhone was about.
There are corporate phones
There are corporate phones that have the dual OSs running in a VM, one for the secure enterprise functionality, and the other OS instance running in its own secure VM instance for the users personal use. So even Phones are running multiple OSs, and I wish AMD would get at least a tablet variant on the market based on maybe a Zen/K12 mash-up with HBM and better graphics, I could see a system able to run both non-ported android and x86 applications, at least as a transitional SKU before most un-ported applications become cross platform ready.
The K12 from AMD has the potential to be a custom ARMv8a based SKU with SMT capabilities and the ability to run even the more challenging desktop OSs. One need only to look at the Power8 RISC design’s heavily processor threaded and ultra wide order superscalar execution decoder pipelines, and even wider backend execution pipelines, to realize that Jim Keller easily could do that with the K12, and engineer it to run the ARMv8a ISA. The ARM ISA supports the same types of hardware virtualization abilities as the x86 ISA does.
Hmmmm… Why not try run
Hmmmm… Why not try run windows mobile on zenfone2 first then?