Windows 11 could seamlessly run graphical Linux apps

Running apps with no fuss and access to GPU hardware acceleration

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Windows 11comes complete with a fresh Display Driver Model that’ll facilitate the ability to run graphical Linux apps directly and seamlessly on the Windows desktop.

Windows Latesthas been digging around in theleaked build of Windows 11which has been the source of a lot of info over the last week or so, and found that it includes support for WDDM 3.0 (Windows Display Driver Model).

This is a necessary component that allows forMicrosoftto bring in WSL GUI support withWindows 11, in a feature that’s called ‘WSLg’ for short, and this is also present in the leaked build.

We first saw it revealed at Microsoft’s Build developer conference back in 2020, with itbeing introduced for testingin a Windows Subsystem for Linux preview in April 2021.

Seamless system

The ability to run Linux graphical apps via WSLg will be a major boon for developers, allowing them to fire up a Linux app right in Windows 11, whereupon the OS will start a companion Linux distro in the background complete with everything necessary to allow that GUI app to communicate seamlessly with Windows.

Furthermore, the running Linux app will be able to use the GPU for hardware acceleration, and audio (plus microphones) will be supported too, giving you the ability to use the microphone to record within the Linux app, for example.

While this functionality is primarily aimed at the likes of developers and testers, it’s clearly a major string in the bow ofWindows Subsystem for Linux(WSL) that’ll doubtless prove handy in a number of use cases when its official release comes.

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

As you may well recall, Microsoft is getting ready to revealnext-gen Windowstomorrow, June 24. We could even get some further indication of how WSL is pushing forward at that event.

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Windows 11’s Paint and Notepad apps are getting smart new AI features – though one of the best will be for Copilot+ PCs only

Windows 11 24H2 misery continues, as Microsoft’s buggy update is now breaking printers – especially on Copilot+ PCs

Your doctor may have an AI assistant taking notes during your next Zoom call