Microsoft's Automatic Super Resolution arrives to improve gaming performance — Auto SR serves as an upscaler similar to Nvidia DLSS and AMD FSR

Christopher Harper
·2 min read
Microsoft screenshot of the Auto SR option inside Windows 11 for Arm.
Microsoft screenshot of the Auto SR option inside Windows 11 for Arm.

In the wake of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X and the ever-present desire to push Windows 11 on Arm to the forefront, Microsoft announced and explained an exclusive feature for Arm Windows 11 today— Auto SR. Microsoft Auto SR, or "Automatic super resolution", is an AI-powered image upscaling solution intended to be used similarly to DLSS, FSR, and other such upscaling solutions. It should not be confused with the more recently announced DirectSR, which functions as an API to integrate any upscaling solution from any vendor easily.

Based on the information on the official Microsoft support page for enabling this feature, there are some significant downsides. However, this is still quite nice to have since Qualcomm's Snapdragon X may otherwise be restricted in upscaling options, particularly in titles without existing upscaling settings. It also shows that Microsoft is still serious about Windows 11 on Arm, and the Snapdragon X CPUs look pretty powerful indeed, even while running x86/x64 applications.

Notable Restrictions of Microsoft Auto SR

  • Only supports Qualcomm Snapdragon X and Windows 11 on Arm (24H2 or newer), for now. The PC must also support Copilot+.

  • Restricted to native ARM titles, as well as certain DirectX11 and DirectX12 games. DX11 and DX12 games in 10-bit formats, as well as OpenGL, Vulkan, and older versions of DirectX like 9 or 8 aren't supported at all.

  • For games where it can work but isn't automatically enabled, the end user will need to manually configure each additional game.

  • Auto SR cannot be used simultaneously with HDR, which is a significant sacrifice in color vibrancy and accuracy for devices with OLED and high-end IPS panels.

  • Enabling or disabling a passive Auto SR indicator requires registry key edits, for some reason. There's no reason this shouldn't be a quick toggle in Windows.

  • Auto SR doesn't support Display resolutions under 1080p. Considering how many mobile devices use a sub-1080p resolution— and how they would certainly see gaming performance boons from doing so— this is an odd omission.

The games currently confirmed to automatically support AutoSR include AAA titles like Borderlands 3, God of War (2018), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Dark Souls III. A full list of games known to be supported can be found on Worksonwoa.com (literally 'Works on Windows on Arm') with the Auto SR filter applied.

Following Microsoft's instructions, other games can be manually tested with Auto SR. As long as it works and you aren't using a device with (or connected to) an HDR display, you have no reason not to enable this to squeeze the most power out of a mobile chipset. However, only actual time and testing will determine whether this upscaling solution looks as good as Nvidia DLSS 2 or AMD FSR 3— though using AI in these upscaling solutions is usually a good sign.