For embedded developers, the time spent moving between writing code, compiling, debugging, testing, and analyzing results can quickly add up. IAR is targeting some of these everyday development bottlenecks with IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm v10.10, which introduces its new cross-platform development environment.

At embedded world North America 2026 in Anaheim, California, Shawn Prestridge, US Field Applications Engineering Manager for IAR, demonstrated the new release to Elektor’s C. J. Abate and explained how the company is modernizing its established embedded development toolchain.
 

A Faster, Cross-Platform IDE

One of the most visible changes is the new cross-platform IDE, with support for both Windows and Linux. During the demonstration, Prestridge showed how developers can move from code editing into a debugging session and back again with very little delay. That responsiveness may sound like a small improvement, but it can matter considerably during firmware development, when engineers can repeat the edit-debug cycle hundreds of times.

According to Prestridge, reducing these delays was one of the areas IAR wanted to address. He said engineers visiting the booth had been particularly interested in how quickly the environment switches between editing and debugging.

The new environment is based on technology from IAR's parent company, Qt Group, as IAR brings its embedded development tools into a more modern, cross-platform framework.

Code Analysis and CI/CD

The update extends beyond the IDE itself. IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm v10.10 incorporates IAR's C-STAT static analysis and C-RUN runtime analysis tools, giving developers additional ways to identify potential problems and improve code quality as part of the development process.

Prestridge also highlighted support for modern development workflows, including CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, cloud-oriented development, and CMake. Linux support is particularly relevant for teams building automated development and testing environments, where embedded toolchains increasingly need to operate outside a traditional desktop IDE.

CMake Without Abandoning Existing IAR Projects

For existing IAR users, moving to the new environment does not necessarily mean rebuilding established projects. Prestridge explained that existing IAR project formats can continue to be used in the new IDE. At the same time, developers working with CMake can bring those projects into IAR Embedded Workbench and make changes that remain integrated with their CMake-based workflow. The goal is to allow engineering teams to modernize their development processes while continuing to use existing IAR projects and toolchains.

More Visibility Into MCU Execution

Debugging and trace capabilities were another focus of the demonstration. For supported microcontrollers and debugging hardware, IAR's tools provide instruction trace and timeline visualization that can give engineers a more detailed view of what is happening inside the MCU.

Prestridge demonstrated the updated timeline interface, including the ability to move through and zoom into execution data. This type of visibility can help developers investigate when and where unexpected behavior occurs, particularly when debugging complex embedded applications where simply stepping through source code may not reveal the entire picture.

The combination of faster debugging, trace visualization, code analysis, CMake integration, and CI/CD support reflects a broader change in embedded software development. Embedded teams increasingly expect many of the automated workflows used in mainstream software engineering while still requiring deep visibility into hardware and MCU execution.

Watch the full Elektor interview and demonstration from embedded world North America 2026 to see IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm v10.10 in action and hear Prestridge explain the new development, debugging, trace, and workflow capabilities.