Surface Pro X as a Development Platform

Hi. I pre-ordered a Surface Pro X. I play around with coding, but really haven't done a lot, except some web and mobile coding. I am concerned about the Surface Pro X's ability to support coding. I have read about Win 10 limitations on an ARM processor. The limits concern me a bit as well. Below are some specific concerns. Of course, the answer to my concerns is purchase a Surface Pro 7. Yet, I admit the Pro X is much more cool than a Pro 7, and at about the same price. 

-- Will VS free and VS Code run on the Surface Pro X? Can I run Windows Store Python?

-- I know I cannot create virtual machines or containers but...

    -- Might that change?

    -- If I cannot run VMs and containers, is Azure's free tier a reasonable alternative? 

    -- Should I but a 16GB Pro X? Or, would an 8GB version be adequate? 

-- I mostly use O365 on my current Surface 3. I do a lot of web browsing, streaming content like YouTube free and just a little Netflix and Spotify streaming. I have done some, but very little image editing, mostly using GIMP and Inkscape. Given this, would you see any challengesw with app compatibility? 

-- I dream of accessing a RPi 4 using some sort of terminal services. 

I recognize this forum may not be the best place to ask this question. I will post on other sites as well. However, if anyone has any thoughts, even if opinions, I would love to read those. 

Many thanks!

Hi Scott-,

Thank you reaching out to Microsoft Community. We appreciate your interest with the new product. You may check out the link below for FAQs about Windows 10 ARM-based PCs.

Windows 10 ARM-based PCs help you keep working wherever you go. Here are some of the main benefits:

• Always be connected to the internet. With a cellular data connection, you can be online wherever you get a cellular signal—just like with your mobile phone. When you’re at work, home, or by another Wi-Fi network you trust, you can connect to Wi-Fi to save cellular data and keep working.
• Battery life that goes beyond all-day. You'll use less power than you would with other PCs, so you can go through a typical work or school day without running out of battery or worrying about finding an outlet to plug into. If you want to use your PC for something more fun, you can play videos stored on your PC for many hours without charging your battery in between.
• Turn on instantly. When you’re not using your PC, just press the power button like you do on your mobile phone to turn off the screen. When you take out your PC and turn it back on, it turns on instantly. Whenever you have a few minutes in between classes, meetings, or other activities, you can get things done without waiting for your PC to start.

Link:  https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4521606/windows-10-arm-based-pc. 

To know more on what are the apps compatible with Surface Pro X:

Applications run differently on ARM-based Windows 10 PCs such as Surface Pro X. Limitations include the following:

• Drivers for hardware, games and apps will only work if they're designed for a Windows 10 ARM-based PC. For more info, check with the hardware manufacturer or the organization that developed the driver. Drivers are software programs that communicate with hardware devices—they're commonly used for antivirus and antimalware software, printing or PDF software, assistive technologies, CD and DVD utilities, and virtualization software. If a driver doesn’t work, the app or hardware that relies on it won’t work either (at least not fully). Peripherals and devices only work if the drivers they depend on are built into Windows 10, or if the hardware developer has released ARM64 drivers for the device.
• 64-bit (x64) apps won’t work. You'll need 64-bit (ARM64) apps, 32-bit (ARM32) apps, or 32-bit (x86) apps. You can usually find 32-bit (x86) versions of apps, but some app developers only offer 64-bit (x64) apps.
• Certain games won’t work. Games and apps won't work if they use a version of OpenGL greater than 1.1, or if they rely on "anti-cheat" drivers that haven't been made for Windows 10 ARM-based PCs. Check with your game publisher to see if a game will work.
• Apps that customize the Windows experience might have problems. This includes some input method editors (IMEs), assistive technologies, and cloud storage apps. The organization that develops the app determines whether their app will work on a Windows 10 ARM-based PC.
• Some third-party antivirus software can’t be installed. You won't be able to install some third-party antivirus software on a Windows 10 ARM-based PC. However, Windows Security will help keep you safe for the supported lifetime of your Windows 10 device.
• Windows Fax and Scan isn’t available. This feature isn’t available on a Windows 10 ARM-based PC.

Link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-pro-arm-app-performance[https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-pro-arm-app-performance](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/surface-pro-arm-app-performance)

Please keep us posted....

Kind Regards,

Rom G.