Windows RT
Sign in to savediscontinued mobile operating system developed by Microsoft
Key facts
- Developer
- Microsoft
- Released to manufacturing
- October 26, 2012 ; 13 years ago ( 2012-10-26 )
- Final release
- 6.3.9600 Update 3 (Windows RT 8.1 Update 3) / January 10, 2023 ; 3 years ago ( 2023-01-10 )
- Supported platforms
- ARMv7
- Kernel type
- Hybrid ( Windows NT )
- Preceded by
- Windows CE
- Succeeded by
- Windows 10 S Windows 10 (ARM64), version 1709
- Official website
- windows .microsoft .com /en-us /windows /rt-welcome
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official website
- windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/rt-welcome
- Image
- Windows 8 Start UI.svg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Microsoft Windows RT
- inception
- 2012-10-26
- Stack Exchange tag
- stackoverflow.com/tags/windows-rt
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~34 min read
Article
Windows RT is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft and released alongside Windows 8 on October 26, 2012. It is a version of Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 built for the 32-bit ARM architecture (ARMv7), designed to take advantage of the architecture's power efficiency to allow for longer battery life, to use system-on-chip (SoC) designs to allow for thinner devices and to provide a "reliable" experience over time. Unlike Windows 8, Windows RT was only available as preloaded software on devices specifically designed for the operating system by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs); Microsoft launched its own hardware running it, the Surface tablet, which was followed by Surface 2, although only five models running Windows RT were released by third-party OEMs throughout its lifetime.
In comparison to other mobile operating systems, Windows RT also supported a relatively large number of existing USB peripherals and accessories and includes a version of Microsoft Office 2013 optimized for ARM devices as pre-loaded software. Some limitations it had compared to Windows 8 were that it could only execute software digitally signed by Microsoft, lacked certain developer-oriented features, and could not run applications designed for x86 processors, which were the main platform for Windows at the time. Windows RT 8.1 was released in 2013 as a free upgrade, featuring a number of improvements.