At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will support . Unlike the x86 architecture that today's Windows laptops and desktops work with, ARM-based chips tend to run such low-power devices as tablets and smartphones.

In his , Microsoft CEO Steve Ball­mer said, "This announcement is really all about enabling a new class of hardware, and new silicon partners for Windows, to bring the widest possible range of form factors to the market."

In other words, Windows won't be just for laptops and desktops anymore.

Microsoft's ARM announcement represents the firm's only officially released factual detail about Windows 8. Consistent with it, the company named as silicon partners, so Windows devices built upon their three low-power platforms are likely.