No Browser Plug-ins in Windows on ARM

One of the things that those who will adopt Windows on ARM are certain to miss is the availability of plug-ins in their browsers.

Recently, Microsoft has provided a new set of details on what the upcoming Windows on ARM (WOA) platform will be all about, and the company has confirmed that it won’t allow browser plug-ins in it.

Previously, Microsoft said that there would be two flavors of its Internet Explorer 10 browser on Windows 8, one delivered as a Metro-Style application without support for plug-ins, and another one released as a desktop application capable of running plug-ins.

In fact, the company has already demonstrated that Internet Explorer 10 came with support for Adobe’s Flash player.

However, in a recent interview with AllThingsD, Windows President Steven Sinofsky said that Internet Explorer 10 on Windows on ARM devices would not come with support for plug-ins.

He said that Adobe Flash would not be supported in the version of Internet Explorer for Windows on ARM. He also mentioned that the industry was actually moving away from flash on mobile devices.

Moreover, he said that there would be Office applications running on ARM as desktop apps, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote, but that no other such apps would be available for Windows 8 users on ARM devices.

The applications that WOA users will benefit from will be Metro-style applications. “There are no other compiled dekstop apps that are available,” Sinofsky reportedly stated.

Microsoft has been long advising developers to turn to HTML5/JavaScript and leave aside plug-ins such as Flash or Silverlight, at least when it came to its own Internet Explorer 10.

According to Microsoft, the lack of such plug-ins will result in increased battery life, while also increasing the security and reliability of devices.

Windows on ARM is meant to deliver a similar feel as Windows on x86 / 64 architecture, but will also have specific features that will differentiate it. The support for only Metro-style applications is one thing that makes it different.