Windows on ARM? Pixel Watch 3 Defies Limits
Running Windows on devices for which it was never intended is far from novel—but this time, the endeavor borders on the absurd. Enthusiast Gustave Monce has managed to install Windows on a Google Pixel Watch 3, humorously dubbing the project “Windows on ARM,” a clever pun that plays on both the processor architecture and the word “arm” itself.
Though the announcement appeared on April 1st, it was no joke. Monce, a graduate student from Bordeaux, has already earned recognition for his Windows porting projects. Previously, he brought Windows 11 to the Surface Duo through the DuoWOA initiative and Windows 10/11 to Lumia 950 and 950 XL as part of LumiaWOA. These devices originally ran either Android or the stripped-down Windows Mobile OS.
The Pixel Watch 3 experiment marked an even more ambitious leap. Monce succeeded in booting Windows PE—a lightweight pre-installation environment akin to a Windows-based live Linux distro—on the smartwatch. This minimalist version of Windows is designed for diagnostics and setup rather than full use. Remarkably, the first step involved installing UEFI onto the watch and enabling USB mass storage mode.
A full installation of Windows remains unrealized and undocumented, yet even a partial boot of Windows PE on such a compact device is a testament to Monce’s extraordinary technical ingenuity. While the practical utility of this feat is minimal, it powerfully illustrates the latent flexibility and potential of platforms often overlooked in everyday use.
The Pixel Watch 3, used for this experiment, debuted in August of last year. It boasts impressive hardware for a wearable and ships with Android Wear by default. Running Windows required deep firmware modification, underscoring the developer’s expertise and persistence.
Given that Windows PE is neither designed for permanent installation nor feature-rich, practical use remains out of reach. Nonetheless, this project serves as a proof of concept: with enough passion and an understanding of hardware architecture, even unsupported operating systems can be coaxed into running on unconventional devices.
The notion of running a desktop OS on a wearable may seem senseless, but it remains firmly rooted in the spirit of openness and experimentation. Geek culture has long embraced such exploits—from launching DOOM on a printer to booting Windows on a refrigerator. To that list, we may now confidently add the smartwatch.