The ARM processors used in the Raspberry Pi have supported a 64-bit mode of operation since the Raspberry Pi 2. Raspbian, the official supported version of Linux for the Raspberry Pi, is a 32-bit operating system and cannot run 64-bit programs. You cannot switch to 64-bit mode, like you can switch to Thumb mode. If you boot the chip into 64-bit mode, run a 64-bit operating system, then you can run either 32-bit or 64-bit programs, but the switch between the modes can only be performed by the operating system.
The Raspberry Pi foundation’s public statement is that they are only going ...
