Parallels has released the latest version of Parallels Desktop, boasting up to 30% faster performance running Arm Windows 10 on M1 Macs.
Parallels is one of the premier virtualization programs for the Mac. It has been a mainstay for Mac users looking to run Windows on Intel-based Macs for years. With Apple’s transition to its custom silicon, virtualization was one of the few types of software that didn’t automatically work in Rosetta 2, Apple’s translation layer that allows Intel-based software to run on the new machines.
Fortunately, Parallels has updated its software to fully support the M1, as well as the older Intel machines. When running Windows 10 on Intel machines, Parallels offers native speeds, comparable to what would be achieved on a dedicated Wintel machine.
When running on the M1 Macs, however, Parallels achieves significantly better performance. Running on the M1 requires a copy of Windows 10 on Arm Insider Preview. However, when paired with Parallels Desktop 16.5, users can see performance “up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.”
Licensed users of parallels 16 can update to the new version at no cost.