About Steinberg products for Windows on Arm

This article contains everything you need to know about Steinberg software for Windows on Arm (WoA).

Products supporting Windows on Arm

Native WoA versions of the following software products are available from the Steinberg Download Assistant (recommended) and/or the corresponding download pages:

Applications	ASIO drivers
Backbone 1.6.10 Cubase 14.0.20 Groove Agent 5.2.20 HALion 7.1.30 HALion Sonic 7.1.30 Nuendo 14.0.20 Padshop 2.2 Retrologue 2.4 SpectraLayers 12.0.30 Read more about the WoA version... The Grand 3.3.10	Steinberg built-in ASIO Driver 1.0.9 Yamaha Steinberg USB Driver V2.1.8

The first WoA-compatible versions are listed.

Requirements

Basically, the WoA versions of our software have the same requirements as their x86/x64-based equivalents. These are the only differences:

Operating system	Windows 11 24H2 on Arm
CPU	Snapdragon X Plus or above
minimum RAM	16 GB

Compatibility

Audio hardware

The WoA versions require an ASIO driver for Windows 11 on Arm.

The installers for our host applications for WoA include the Steinberg built-in ASIO Driver for WoA, which you can use in the not unlikely event that a compatible driver is not yet available for your audio interface.

For the information about Steinberg audio interfaces supported by the Yamaha Steinberg USB driver, please see the download page.

VST Plug-ins

The Arm-based versions of Cubase and Nuendo support both VST3 and ARA. However, VST2 is not supported under WoA.

Since the previews for Windows on Arm make use of Arm64EC, Windows 11 on Arm's application binary interface, most of your x86/x64-based VST3 plug-ins will work. Initial tests with plug-ins from third-party manufacturers such as Native Instruments or Waves were successful.

So far, iLok-protected plug-ins do not run under WoA.

Sound content / vstsound files

Sound content for Cubase, Nuendo and HALion instruments can be used without any limitation under macOS, Windows and Windows on Arm.

Licenses

Of course, your existing Steinberg licenses are valid under Windows 11 on Arm, too.

FAQ

What is Windows on Arm?

Windows on Arm is an operating system optimized for computers with Arm-based CPUs, which allow for higher performance and better power efficiency compared to CPUs with an x86/x64-architecture.

Windows on Arm can run x86/x64-based applications under emulation. However, the advantages of Arm-based systems can only be utilized with software developed for Windows on Arm.

Windows on Arm FAQ by Microsoft

Why is Windows 10 on Arm not supported?

Windows 10 on Arm is missing Arm64EC, an interface that allows WoA applications to use x86/x64-based plug-ins under emulation. In fact, only a handful of VST plug-ins developed for WoA would currently be compatible with Cubase or Nuendo running natively on Windows 10 on Arm. Therefore, Windows 11 on Arm offers a much smoother transfer to Arm-based technology.

Details on ARM64EC by Microsoft