A developer has already virtualized Windows on Apple silicon

While it is currently not officially supported by Microsoft, a developer has successfully virtualized the ARM version of Windows on an Apple silicon-based Mac. As reported by The 8-Bit, Alexandar Graf posted on Twitter that he was able to accomplish the feat using the QEMU virtualizer.

Who said Windows wouldn't run well on #AppleSilicon? It's pretty snappy here 😁.

While it is worth noting Graf specifically got the ARM version of Windows working and not the x86 version, the developer did say that the Windows ARM version can also run x86 applications.

Note that he was able to virtualize the ARM version of Windows and not the x86 version. Virtualizing an x86 version of Windows might have been much difficult as compared to the ARM version as Apple's M1 chip has a 64-bit ARM architecture. Although, Graf also mentions in one of his tweets that "Windows ARM64 can run x86 applications really well. It's not as fast as Rosetta 2, but close."

Demand for Windows on Apple silicon is high and Apple's own Craig Federighi recently said that it is in Microsoft's court to support it.

There is a high demand for running Windows on Apple Silicon. Apple's Senior VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, in an interview, said that Apple Silicon contains the core technologies to run Windows natively. "M1 Macs are certainly capable of running Windows." However, he said that "it'll really be up to Microsoft" to make it a reality.

If you want to check out Graf's method for enabled Windows ARM on Apple silicon, you can read his reference information here.