Support for devices with ARM64 CPU

[johnrich]

Good afternoon, have you by any chance heard any news about the release of a version of Endpoint compatible with ARM64 CPUs such as Qualcomm Snapdragon?
More and more laptop manufacturers are making models with these CPUs: Microsoft Surface, HP EliteBook, Lenovo Yoga, etc.

[Chris_Atkinson]

To my knowledge sk176663 /  sk170777 remains current, please take this discussion with your local office / SE.

[PhoneBoy]

At this time, the only Endpoint blade supported on ARM is Media Encryption and Port Protection: https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk176663 
VPN is supported also, albeit as Check Point Mobile/SecuRemote or Capsule VPN: https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk170777 
Other functionality is not currently supported on ARM processors.
To help prioritize development of this, please contact your local Check Point office with your specific requirements.

[johnrich]

Yes, I have already proposed it on November 2024 to our local Check Point Office we will see what happens.

[G_W_Albrecht]

ARM64 market share Q3 24 was 1,5%, but mostly Apple CPUs. To maintain a new ARM EPS version is a huge investment. Are you forced to use these models ? If i need EPS on the laptop i have to choose one that supports it...

[johnrich]

ARM64 market will raise 13% in 2025 and 30% by 2026.

IMHO other factors that should whet Check Point appetite are:
Microsoft Security support ARM64 from 2023
BitDefender support ARM64 from 2023
Sophos support ARM64 from 2023
Eset support ARM64 from 2024
Avast support ARM64 from 2023
AVG support ARM64 from 2023
Symantec support ARM64 from 2023

[G_W_Albrecht]

So it will be enough if ARM64 is fully supported start of 2026. Maybe together with SmartConsole 😉

[PhoneBoy]

The ARM manufacturers themselves suggest they'll be at 50% market share in 5 years per the article I linked.
Having said that, those are projections.
Regardless, I assume we are monitoring the overall state of the industry here.
Specific RFEs from customers will also help prioritize development of this.

[PhoneBoy]

In terms of Windows PCs, ARM has about 11% market share currently: https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/arm-pc-market-share-wont-rise-above-13-percent-in-20... 
That would suggest ARM-based Windows PCs are still relatively niche.

[G_W_Albrecht]

I fully agree. Also, people are rather not buying ARM64 or Copilot PCs but a successor to their old hardware...

[johnrich]

Meanwhile, in this past month and a half, I have had to tell the internal IT department of 3 customers that they cannot install Check Point Harmony Endpoint on their Microsoft Surface PROs.
Leaving them with Windows Defender and Check Point VPN Only...

[BarYassure]

Hi
@PhoneBoy is right with his comments below.
We definitely see the increased demand for ARM.
Our main focus in H1 is to improve the client performance (88.70 and future versions), so we decided to push our plans for ARM support.

With that said, we hope we could start supporting additional blades later this year, but we do not have a clear ETA at the moment.

[Nino136415]

Since it has been more than a year since your last comment, do you know if it's still make sense waiting for the solution or should we change the vendor regarding Endpoint Security, as for management and even most of the users Windows ARM laptops are now go to solutions. I'm really not sure if I'm going to trust promises on topic when it's going to be published, as at least per my knowledge it has been delayed in last year and half multiple times..

[Chris_Atkinson]

Obviously subject to change but I believe there is an EA for extended ARM support commencing with E89.30.

Please reach out to your local SE / Account team accordingly.

[jorgeluiznim]

@Nino136415  pulling the thread together, since you are weighing whether to wait or switch:

What is supported on ARM64 today (documented): only Media Encryption & Port Protection as an Endpoint blade (sk176663), plus VPN through Check Point Mobile, SecuRemote or Capsule VPN (sk170777). The rest of the Harmony Endpoint stack (Anti-Malware, Anti-Ransomware, Behavioral Guard, Threat Emulation, FDE, EDR) is not GA on ARM64 Windows, which is why the full client install fails on Surface Pro and similar.

What is coming: as @Chris_Atkinson  noted, there is an Early Availability for extended ARM support starting with E89.30, and earlier in this thread a Check Point employee confirmed the intent to add blades. Both are directional. EA is not GA, and I have not seen a public GA date or the exact blade scope, so treat it as in progress and subject to change.

If you have to decide now, a practical way to de-risk it:

• If ARM is already strategic for you, get into the E89.30 EA through your SE or account team and test the specific blades you actually need on your real ARM hardware. That turns the roadmap into something you can verify.
• Before you commit the fleet, ask the account team for two things in writing: the blade scope of the ARM support, and a target GA. Given the delays you mentioned, a written commitment is fair to ask for.
• Interim posture for the ARM devices you cannot wait on: the documented supported combination is a native ARM AV (Windows Defender is ARM64 native) plus Check Point VPN (Mobile, SecuRemote or Capsule). Not full parity, but it is the supported path today.

Being honest: for a production ARM fleet that needs full EPP/EDR right now, it is not there yet, and the EA is a starting point rather than a finished answer. The call really comes down to how large and how soon your ARM footprint is versus how much the E89.30 EA covers when you test it.