Google Drive is now compatible with ARM PCs that run on Windows. Now, users with a Microsoft Surface or a Snapdragon powered Windows device can sync their data to the cloud with the official client.
Microsoft had partnered with Qualcomm and OEMs like HP, Dell, Acer, ASUS, Lenovo and Samsung to help launch computers that were powered by Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips. These were the first CoPilot+ PCs, that were designed for AI and promised all–day battery life.
But things didn’t go smoothly as Snapdragon PCs ran into some hurdles, not just in terms of hardware performance or controversies surrounding Windows Recall, but also due to some software support. Many popular apps were not available for ARM64 devices, one notable example of this was the lack of a native version of the Google Drive app.
The Mountain View company had released a beta version of Google Drive for Windows on ARM devices in December 2024, after acknowledging requests from users who had been asking Google to release an official version of the app for ARM PCs. After a successful test phase that lasted a few months, Google has finally announced that it has released the stable version of the app for all users.
Now, you could ask why bother with the app, while you can always access the cloud storage service via a web browser. Well, the Google Drive app offers some useful features for desktop users. You can set it to “Stream Files”, which will allow you to browse files that are stored in the cloud like a local folder via File Explorer, without actually downloading them permanently.
When you want to access a file from the cloud, you can download it to your PC. On the other hand, you may want to use the mirror files option in Google Drive, which saves the files on your computer’s local storage for quick access.
More importantly, the Google Drive app for desktop saves the edits you made to your files and syncs them to the cloud automatically.
The Google Drive app for ARM PCs is only compatible with devices running Windows 11 and Microsoft WebView2. The app is currently rolling out to users, and might take about 15 days before it is available to all users. Existing users on the beta version will automatically be updated to the stable version. You can download the Google Drive app for ARM on Windows from the official website.
Google says that the app will be available for all Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.
Many people were surprised when Google announced that it would bring its Chrome browser for Windows on ARM, as it is an operating system that is directly competing with its own ChromeOS platform. Google’s support for Windows on ARM is a big win, not just for users, but also for OEMs, Qualcomm, and Microsoft. Of course, Google will benefit from it more, if it manages to attract users to its paid subscriptions such as Google One, YouTube Premium and more.