TL;DR
Windows Insider build 29695 contains an option to enable Intel x86 APX support, which Xeno says is currently for developers.
Windows Insider build 29695 includes a setting to enable Advanced Performance Extensions (APX) support to improve performance following a system restart, according to Xeno. This feature could eventually arrive with the Windows 11 27H2 Rubidium update in 2027. Xeno states the setting currently targets programmers and changes nothing regarding regular system behavior.
Intel says APX is an evolutionary step for its x86-64 architecture that doubles general-purpose registers from 16 to 32. Intel claims code compiled with APX support contains 10% fewer loads and more than 20% fewer stores than equivalent code using the x86-64 baseline. While software compiled for APX should run faster on compatible hardware and potentially use less dynamic power, Intel says benefits depend on the specific software and workload. Developers can integrate the extensions by recompiling their code.
The technology will initially be limited to Xeon processors. Intel is expected to debut its first APX-compatible processors via Diamond Rapids Xeon CPUs in the server market in the coming months, according to Xeno.
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