Updated: July 10, 2020 (November 19, 2012)

Windows RT

Michael analyzed and wrote about Microsoft's operating systems, including the Windows client OS, as well as compliance and governance. Michael... more

Windows RT is a new member of the Windows family designed to run on devices, such as tablets, laptops (including those that are touch-enabled), and ultrabooks, based on the ARM-architecture system on a chip (SoC). This table compares which features are available on Windows RT, as opposed to the Windows 8 product for AMD and Intel x86 and x64 devices.

Feature Availability	Windows 8	Windows RT
Favors Modern, touch-enabled UI?	Yes	Yes
Includes traditional desktop mode?	Yes	Limited¹
Runs Windows Store applications?	Yes	Yes
Runs Office applications?	All	Home & Student 2013²
Runs existing Windows applications?	Yes	No
Runs on AMD and Intel processors?	Yes	No
Runs on ARM-based tablets?³	No	Yes
Joins Active Directory Domain?	Yes	No
Managed by Group Policy?	Yes	No
Managed by Exchange ActiveSync?	No	Yes
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