You now have a reliable and quick way to run Windows 10 on an M1-based Mac — provided you're willing to make some tradeoffs. Parallels has released Desktop 16.5 for Mac with full support for M1. Parallels Desktop Business Edition allows you to run Windows and Mac applications side by side. Choose your view to make Windows invisible while still using its applications, or keep the familiar Windows background and controls on your Mac. Whether you need to run Windows programs that don’t have Mac versions, or you’re making the switch. Parallels Desktop for Mac has been updated today to support Apple’s new M1-based Macs. Anyway, the Parallels Desktop technical preview release for M1-based Macs is an early look at the work that Parallels is doing to adapt to Apple’s new architecture. And that means it’s not. Anyone looking for a way to run Windows 10 on a new Mac with Apple Silicon now has an easy, reliable option. Parallels just released a new version of its virtual desktop tool, Desktop 16.5, that.
Parallels Access and Parallels Toolbox apps have native support for M1 Mac Computers
Bellevue, Wash.—April 14, 2021 — Parallels®, a global leader in cross-platform solutions, today released the highly anticipated Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac (parallels.com/desktop), which features full native support for Mac computers equipped with either Apple M1 or Intel chips. Experience Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview and its applications on Apple M1 Mac computers.2 The M1 chip’s superior performance delivers the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer, revolutionary power efficiency, and was designed to work with macOS Big Sur3—which Parallels Desktop 16.5 transforms into a new standard for a seamless Windows-on-Mac experience. It also delivers M1 support for the most popular ARM-based Linux distributions. Separate Parallels Access (parallels.com/access) and the just-redesigned and simplified Parallels Toolbox (parallels.com/toolbox) apps, which are both included for free concurrently with Parallels Desktop subscriptions, now also provide native support for M1 Mac computers.
'Apple's M1 chip is a significant breakthrough for Mac users,” said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Parallels Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support. “The transition has been smooth for most Mac applications, thanks to Rosetta technology. However, virtual machines are an exception and thus Parallels engineers implemented native virtualization support for the Mac with M1 chip. This enables our users to enjoy the best Windows-on-Mac experience available.”
More than 100,000 M1 Mac users tested the Technical Preview of Parallels Desktop 16.5 for M1 Mac and ran Microsoft’s Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview, as well as tens of thousands of different Intel-based Windows applications—including Microsoft Office for Windows, Microsoft Visual Studio, SQL Server, Microsoft PowerBI and MetaTrader.
“We received enthusiastic feedback about the remarkable performance of both the Technical Preview of Parallels Desktop 16 for M1 Mac and Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview as well as x86 applications and games, including Rocket League, Among Us, Roblox, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sam & Max Save the World and many others. Testers loved Parallels Desktop’s easy-to-use features and seamless integration of Windows with macOS Big Sur, which increased productivity,” said Dobrovolskiy.
Watch a video demo of how to install virtual machines (VMs) in Parallels Desktop 16.5 on an M1 Mac: www.parallels.com/VMonM1Mac.
The virtualization approach for Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac enables users to benefit from Apple’s M1 chip performance advancements—applications run faster and more efficiently. Performance observations include:
Up to 250 percent less energy used: On a Mac with an Apple M1 chip, Parallels Desktop 16.5 uses 2.5 times less energy than on a 2020 Intel-based MacBook Air computer.4
Up to 60 percent better DirectX 11 performance: Parallels Desktop 16.5 running on an M1 Mac delivers up to 60 percent better DirectX 11 performance than on an Intel-based MacBook Pro with Radeon Pro 555X GPU.5
Up to 30 percent better virtual machine performance (Windows): Running a virtual machine (VM) of Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview on Parallels Desktop 16.5 on an M1 Mac performs up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.6
“I installed Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac and Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview on my M1 Mac Mini because, as a math teacher, several software apps that I use are no longer supported on M1 Mac,” said Daniel Dudley, Albuquerque, NM, United States. “Running Windows on my M1 Mac in Parallels Desktop 16.5 has been awesome. It’s the fastest version of Windows that I have ever had!”
Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac also supports guest operating systems (OSs) on M1 Mac computers including Linux distributives Ubuntu 20.04, Kali Linux 2021.1, Debian 10.7 and Fedora Workstation 33-1.2.
“I absolutely love being able to run Linux environments within Parallels Desktop 16.5 on my M1 Mac,” said Darren Paxton, United Kingdom. “The performance is simply amazing.”
All the best Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac features have been re-engineered for the Apple M1 chip, including:
Coherence Mode: Run Windows applications on your Mac as if they were native Mac applications, without managing two separate desktops or rebooting.
Shared Profile: Share your Mac desktop, pictures, documents, and other folders with a VM for easy access.
Touch Bar controls: Quickly access apps in your virtual machine and customize your Touch Bar shortcuts to feature the apps and commands you use most.
Mac keyboard layouts: Easily customize your keyboard menu and shortcuts for a more personalized experience.
Hundreds of other Parallels Desktop features are included to help make it simple for customers be more productive.
macOS Big Sur in a VM is a feature that Parallels hopes to add support for in Parallels Desktop later this year.
Highlights of Parallels Desktop 16’s extensive features for Intel-based Mac computers are available in this press release. Intel-based Parallels Desktop for Mac customers can run more than 50 supported guest OSs, including several versions of Windows, macOS, OS X, Linux, as well as Android OS and dozens more.
Availability and Pricing
All editions of Parallels Desktop 16.5 update for Mac support both M1 and Intel Mac computers (Standard Edition, Pro Edition and Business Edition). They can be purchased either online at parallels.com/desktop (which also offers free full-featured 14-day trials) or from retail and online stores worldwide. Parallels Desktop subscriptions include complimentary concurrent subscriptions to Parallels Access, and just-redesigned and simplified Parallels Toolbox for Mac and Windows, which are also separately available for free trials and subscriptions at parallels.com.
Anyone with a Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac license can get an automatic update to Parallels Desktop 16.5 at no additional cost. And, when new full versions of Parallels Desktop for Mac are released annually, customers with active subscriptions receive complimentary upgrades, which ensure support for the latest OSs, hardware, and Parallels Desktop’s innovative features.
Running VMs on Apple M1 Mac computers in Parallels Desktop 16.5 requires ARM-based operating systems (OSs). Customers who install guest operating systems in Parallels Desktop virtual machines are responsible for making sure that they are compliant with each OSs’ end-user licensing agreement (EULA).
Recommended Retail Price (RRP)
Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac
Apple M1 Parallels Desktop Version
Upgrade your Parallels Desktop 14 or 15 to a perpetual license – US$49.99
New subscription – US$79.99 per year
New perpetual license – US$99.99
Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition
Upgrade from any edition – US$49.99 per year
New subscription – US$99.99 per year
Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition
US$99.99 per year
About Parallels
Parallels is a global leader in cross-platform solutions that make it possible and simple for businesses and individuals to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. Parallels helps customers leverage the best technology out there, whether it’s Windows, Mac, iOS, Android or the cloud. Parallels solves complex engineering and user-experience problems by making it simple and cost-effective for businesses and individual customers to use applications wherever they may be—local, remote, in the private datacenter or in the cloud. Parallels, a business unit of Corel, has offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Visit parallels.com/about for more information.
Apple M1 Parallels Desktop App
About Corel
Corel® products enable millions of connected knowledge workers around the world to do great work faster. Offering some of the industry's best-known software brands, Corel gives individuals and teams the power to create, collaborate, and deliver impressive results. Success is driven by an unwavering commitment to deliver a broad portfolio of innovative applications – including CorelDRAW®, MindManager®, Parallels®, and WinZip® – to inspire users and help them achieve their goals. To learn more about Corel, please visit www.corel.com.
Media Contacts
John Uppendahl, Vice President of Communications, [email protected], +1 425 282-1734
Running Windows at native speeds on your Mac depends upon its hardware configuration. Parallels Desktop for Mac has more than seven million customers.
Running VMs on Apple M1 Mac computers in Parallels Desktop 16.5 requires ARM-based operating systems (OSs). Customers who install guest operating systems in Parallels Desktop virtual machines are responsible for making sure that they are compliant with each OSs’ end-user licensing agreement (EULA).
Apple M1 chip performance, power efficiency, and information is from https://www.apple.com/mac/m1/.
Performance measurements conducted by Parallels by measuring Mac power consumption with Windows 10 running. Tested with a pre-released version of Parallels Desktop 16.5 on MacBookAir10,1 with Apple M1 chip and 16GB RAM versus MacBookAir8,2 with Intel Core i5-8210Y and 8GB RAM. The performance will vary based on usage, system configuration, and other factors.
Performance measurements conducted by Parallels by running the Unigine Valley benchmark for DirectX 11 API and comparing an average score out of five iterations on each computer. Tested with a pre-release version of Parallels Desktop 16.5 on MacBookPro17,1 with Apple M1 chip and 16GB RAM versus MacBookPro15,1 with Intel Core i9-8950HK, 16GB RAM and Radeon Pro 555X GPU. The performance will vary based on usage, system configuration, and other factors.
Performance measurements conducted by Parallels by running the Geekbench 5 benchmark and comparing an average score out of five iterations on each computer. Tested with a pre-release version of Parallels Desktop 16.5 on MacBookPro17,1 with Apple M1 chip and 16GB RAM versus MacBookPro15,3 with Intel Core i9-8950HK, 32GB RAM and Radeon Pro Vega 20 GPU. The performance will vary based on usage, system configuration, and other factors.
Parallels has announced that version 16.5 of its virtualization software, Parallels Desktop for Mac, is now generally available, bringing with it native support for Apple's new M1 chipset. Ever since Apple announced its first Macs powered by in-house ARM processors, more and more companies have had to update their apps to run natively on they new silicon, since Intel-based apps have to be emulated, this resulting in some performance overhead.
Parallels Desktop 16 M1
The benefits of native support should be especially evident in Parallels Desktop, since virtualization software tends to use a significant amount of hardware resources. In fact, that's why Parallels prioritized adding native support for the M1 chip, as Nick Dobrovolskiy, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support, says:
'Apple's M1 chip is a significant breakthrough for Mac users (...). The transition has been smooth for most Mac applications, thanks to Rosetta technology. However, virtual machines are an exception and thus Parallels engineers implemented native virtualization support for the Mac with M1 chip. This enables our users to enjoy the best Windows-on-Mac experience available.”
Parallels is making some big claims about the performance and power efficiency improvements, but you have to read the fine print to put things in the correct perspective. First, it promises to be 250% more power-efficient on an Apple M1 Mac compared to a 2020 Intel-based MacBook Air. However, it's actually compared an Apple M1 MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM to a model powered by an Intel Core i5-8210Y and 8GB of RAM, which was actually released in July 2019. There is a newer Intel-based MacBook Air with Ice Lake processors, but that's not what's being used here.
It also promises up to 60% more performance on an Apple M1 MacBook Pro versus an Intel-based one, but that's with an Intel Core i9-8950HK and AMD Radeon Pro 555X GPU, again ignoring the most recent generation of MacBooks. Finally, it promises up to 30% more performance on a Windows VM, but again, that's comparing to the same Core i9-8950HK processor, though this time with a Radeon Pro Vega 20 GPU and 32GB of RAM, double of what's in the M1-based MacBook Pro used in the comparison. As such, while there may be improvements in performance, they may not be as significant as suggested in Parallels' announcement.
There's also another problem that this update doesn't solve. As we noted in our review of the M1 MacBook Pro, many of the Windows 10 inbox apps don't run on the Apple M1, since it only supports 64-bit ARM apps, while Windows 10 still ships with many 32-bit ones. Also, Microsoft only releases VHDX images for Windows on ARM Insider Previews, so you can't get a stable version of the OS running on Macs just yet.
Update: As noted by one of our readers, you should be able to run ARM32 apps in Parallels now. Users on the Parallels forum have reported similar successes during the technical preview stage.
Either way, if you already have an M1-based Mac, this should at least improve your experience on it.