Microsoft and Parallels have reached an agreement allowing the latter to bring Windows 11 to Apple’s custom chips.
Parallels is a popular solution for Mac users that need to run Windows apps. While the company has already made the transition to supporting Apple’s M-series custom chips, Windows 11 was a major sticking point, leaving users stuck on Windows 10.
The two companies have reached a deal, however, that will finally bring an Arm-based Windows 11 to Apple’s new machines via Parallels. Alludo, Parallels parent company, announced the news:
Alludo, a global technology company helping people work better and live better, today announced that Microsoft has authorized the use of Arm versions of Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise installed in a virtual machine with Parallels Desktop for Mac for customers on Mac with Apple silicon. IT administrators can now enable their users to run Windows 11 on Arm on the Parallels platform, with the support from Alludo and assurance that Microsoft has authorized this solution.
There are some serious limitations to Windows 11 running in Parallels. Specifically, according to a Microsoft support document, anything that requires additional layers of virtualization is unsupported. As a result, Windows Subsystem for Android, Windows Subsystem for Linux, Windows Sandbox, and Virtualization-based Security (VBS) will not work.
Nonetheless, the news is sure to be welcome by Mac users that need or want to run the latest version of Windows inside Parallels.
“At Alludo, we believe that all employees should have the freedom and flexibility to choose where, when, and how they do their best work. Therefore, the vision for our Parallels portfolio has been to allow users to access their applications on any device, anywhere,” said Prashant Ketkar, Chief Technology and Product Officer at Alludo. “In line with our vision, we are excited to see that, in collaboration with Microsoft, Arm versions of Windows can run in a virtualized environment on Parallels Desktop on the latest Mac systems running Apple’s powerful M-series chips.”
“Three years into the ’new’ world of hybrid work, IDC research indicates that equality of access to enterprise resources is still a top concern for hybrid work and digital workspace strategies,” said Shannon Kalvar, IDC Research Director. “Mac is increasingly an integral part of enterprise’s digital workspaces, and Windows on Arm is a key component in ensuring they have equal access to all corporate resources.”
Microsoft has dashed hopes that running Windows 11 on M1 Macs will be officially supported, saying it’s “an unsupported scenario.”
Parallels, the leading Mac virtualization software, recently released a version for the M1 Mac and saw up to 30% improved Windows 10 performance. The company has been working on Windows 11 compatibility but, according to The Register, has been running into some issues.
Version 17 of Parallels Desktop started experiencing errors when running Windows 11. The company released 17.0.1, which seems to have fixed the problem — at least for now.
According to a statement Microsoft gave to The Register, running Windows 11 on the M1 — either natively or in virtualization — is “an unsupported scenario.”
It remains to be seen if it’s merely unsupported, or if Microsoft will be attempting to actively block it from working moving forward. The fact that Parallels was able to get it working again is at least promising.
Microsoft may have upended the virtualization market with its latest product, designed to let anyone with a web browser run Windows.
Users of other operating systems, such as Linux or Apple’s macOS, rely on virtualization to run Windows and its applications. Such a solution can be costly and resource-intensive. Microsoft is looking to make virtualization much easier, with users able to run a version of Windows in their browser.
“With Windows 365, we’re creating a new category: the Cloud PC,” said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. “Just like applications were brought to the cloud with SaaS, we are now bringing the operating system to the cloud, providing organizations with greater flexibility and a secure way to empower their workforce to be more productive and connected, regardless of location.”
The solution should be a boon to remote workers and hybrid workforces.
“Hybrid work has fundamentally changed the role of technology in organizations today,” said Jared Spataro, corporate vice president, Microsoft 365. “With workforces more disparate than ever before, organizations need a new way to deliver a great productivity experience with increased versatility, simplicity and security. Cloud PC is an exciting new category of hybrid personal computing that turns any device into a personalized, productive and secure digital workspace. Today’s announcement of Windows 365 is just the beginning of what will be possible as we blur the lines between the device and the cloud.”
Apple users, in particular, have had their workflows disrupted with the move to Apple’s M1 processor. Apple previously included Boot Camp with Intel-based Macs, a way to install a full copy of Windows and boot from it. The new Macs don’t include Boot Camp, forcing Apple users to rely on Parallels. Using a third-party solution can sometimes lag behind, as developers work to support the latest versions of Windows.
Windows 365 should be available to all businesses on August 2.
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.
As we previously reported, Tim Cook announced what many had predicted: The Mac is officially moving to Apple’s custom silicon.
Apple has been rumored to be moving working on moving the Mac to ARM processors for years, especially as Intel has struggled to keep up with industry developments. In many ways, Apple’s current situation mirrors the situation it found itself in with its last line of chips, the PowerPC semiconductors.
Apple’s Semiconductor History
Used by the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM and Motorola), PowerPC was a RISC-based architecture that had a number of advantages over Intel and other x86 lines. Ultimately, however, Motorola and IBM fell behind Intel, in terms of development and processor speed. Regardless of how much more advanced the PowerPC chips may have been, Intel’s sheer processing speed eventually surpassed it.
To make matters worse, IBM was never able to solve the issues with heat. This was especially evident with the PowerPC G5 line of chips. While extremely powerful for desktop computing, it could never be used in a laptop, consuming too much power and producing too much heat.
After several years of falling behind, at the mercy of IBM and Motorola, Apple jumped ship to Intel. Once again, however, Apple is in the same boat. Intel has been struggling to keep up with demand and the move to 10nm processors, leaving room for its old rival, AMD, to make significant headway.
To make matters even worse, Apple has had issues with some recent MacBook Pro models not being able to sustain high-speed operations because of the heat generated by the Intel processors. Instead, the machines have had to throttle their performance, in some cases making top-end models run slower than low-end and mid-level MacBook Pros.
ARM Chips To the Rescue
The game-changing element for Apple is the rise of ARM chips, which the company uses in its iPhones and iPads. Arm Holding, the creator of ARM processors, was originally a joint venture between Apple and Acorn, before ultimately being acquired by SoftBank.
Unlike Intel or AMD, Arm doesn’t manufacture its own chips. Instead, it designs and licenses them for its customers to manufacture on their own. The company offers different license level, some of which allow customers to modify the designs to better suit their needs.
Apple, however, has the broadest license of all, essentially allowing it to do whatever it wants with Arm’s designs. The results are industry-leading chips that provide unrivaled performance. Case in point is Apple’s recent iPhone SE. Despite having an under-clocked A13 Bionic chip, it significantly outperforms flagship Android phones.
What’s more, Apple’s manufacturing process has been able to keep up with the demand for iPhones and iPads, which far exceed its Mac base. As a result, the writing has been on the wall for some time that Apple would eventually switch to its own custom silicon, taking its fate back into its own hands once again.
Performance and Power
One of the biggest benefits of moving to its own silicon is the ability to deliver Macs that offer better performance while consuming less power. For example, the current generation iPad Pro delivers better performance than most PC laptops on the market, and does so without a single fan to help manage heat.
Macs with Apple Silicon
In the large case of a MacBook, iMac or Mac Pro, the performance possibilities are thrilling. During the demo, Craig Federighi showed one of the new Macs running Final Cut Pro. Not only could he edit and add effects while the video was playing, but Final Cut could run three simultaneous 4K streams.
Final Cut Pro
Developers and Compatibility
While any processor change is a monumental undertaking, Apple has a history of pulling it off, with this being the third such transition.
Xcode Recompile
Federighi highlighted the work the company has done to help ease the process for developers, with many of them able to update their apps with just a few days of work. Microsoft and Adobe have already ported their software to run on the new architecture.
Microsoft Word
In addition, the company will make it possible to ship Universal apps that contain binaries for both Intel and Apple’s CPUs. Apple has labeled this Universal 2, and improved version of the Universal apps that contained PowerPC and Intel binaries during that migration.
In addition, macOS will include Rosetta 2, a translation layer that will run Intel-based software that hasn’t been updated yet. Again, Apple first introduced Rosetta during the Intel migration, allowing the Intel-based Macs to run older PowerPC-based software.
The new version of Rosetta is a significant upgrade, however. Whereas the original Rosetta translated an app at runtime, Rosetta 2 will translate the time of install. This will significantly improve performance of these older apps. Meantime, a just-in-time (JIT) compiler is still available if needed, such as when working with plugins.
In addition, Andreas Wendker demoed Parallels running Linux. This is an important factor, as it shows that virtualization is alive and well on Apple’s silicon.
Parallels on Apple Silicon
He also demoed Shadow of the Tomb Raider running in Rosetta translation mode. Despite running at 1080p, the game was flawlessly smooth.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
As an added bonus, the new ARM-based Macs will be able to run iOS and iPadOS without modification, thanks to the shared architecture.
Mac Running iOS Apps
Custom Silicon—A new Era of Mac Computing
Without a doubt, Apple’s move to its own custom silicon has been a long time coming. The move will help usher in a new era of Mac computing, with Apple firmly in charge of its own processor development.
As a company that has built its experiencing on tight control of the hardware and software, this is a move that will help usher in a new wave of Mac innovation.
Parallels and Google have announced a partnership, aimed at brining full-fledged Windows applications to Chrome Enterprise.
Parallels got it start creating virtualization software for macOS that allowed it to run Windows and Linux. Over the years, the company has expanded its offerings, and was ultimately acquired by Corel in 2018. Throughout its history, however, the company’s products have been well received, often going head-to-head with similar products from VMware.
According to the company’s latest announcement, it is helping Google bring Windows desktop applications to Chrome Enterprise.
“Remote work is a new reality, making efficiency, connectivity, speed, reliability, security and undisrupted access essential elements of a successful organization,” says Parallels’ site. “At this key moment, our two organizations have formed a landmark partnership to equip enterprises with solutions that optimize their businesses and teams to meet the evolving challenges of modern work environments.
“Parallels brings more than a decade of cross-platform solutions experience, seamlessly integrating operating systems and features, to its partnership with Google. Parallels’ award-winning software solutions make it simple for enterprises, businesses, organizations and individuals to access and use the applications and files they need on any device or operating system.”
The announcement is short on hard details. In a Google Chrome blog post, however, Chrome OS VP John Solomon said: “Our new partnership with Parallels brings legacy application support—which includes Microsoft Office desktop apps—to Chromebooks. More to come on this over the coming months.”
Demand Media announced today that its domain registrar eNom’s Top Level Domain (TLD) program is included in the latest version of Parallels Plesk Panel and in Parallels Domain Name Network.
“The Internet is undergoing an historic change, and our valuable relationship with eNom enables us to provide solutions and information to educate customers who want to be on the forefront of this revolution,” said John Zanni, VP of marketing and alliances for Parallels. “Access to the new TLD space will tremendously benefit our customers, and eNom makes this possible.”
Parallels customers will be able to participate in “all aspects of the initial phases” of the new TLD launch, the two companies say. That means during the “sunrise” and “landrush” periods.
“The excitement around new TLDs is growing, and our integration with Parallels helps validate this,” said Chris Sheridan, VP of business development for eNom. “Through these integrations, we’re opening up the opportunity for a new group of businesses and consumers to become actively involved in the innovative new TLD market. eNom’s session on new TLDs is aimed at educating attendees on this exciting time for the web.”
The services, called “eNom New TLD Extension for Parallels Plesk Panel”, will be available through the Server Management Extensions in the Service Provider interface or from the Parallels Partner Products site.
Sheridan will be speaking about the new TLDs program at Parallels Summit next week in Vegas.
Google has announced that it’s expanded its Services for Websites program in which hosting companies integrate Google services into their platforms, to include Parallels, a provider of control panel software for hosting companies. Parallels will integrate Google Services for Websites into the new version of its Plesk Panel, a platform Google says millions of site-owners use to manage their sites.
This may work to get a lot of site-owners using Google products that they weren’t necessarily using before, and in theory could help their visibility, traffic, and revenue in the long run.
"Website owners generate more traffic to their websites by optimizing them using Webmaster Tools," says Google Search Group Product Manager Rajat Mukherjee. "They can engage their users with inline Web Elements, including maps, news, videos and conversations. Custom Search and Site Search provide Google-quality search on their websites for better user retention. AdSense helps website owners monetize their sites with relevant advertising. And besides providing these valuable services to millions of customers, hosting companies can also generate additional revenues through referral programs."
This also marks the first commercial control panel to offer Google Services for Websites, allowing the hosting companies to monetize the services, according to Parallels. "These significant updates enable shared hosting companies to generate new revenue streams and deliver better services to their small business customers," says Parallels President Jack Zubarev.
Google Services for Websites was announced last year. Other partners include DomainHost, GoDaddy, FatCow, Aplus.net, and about 15 others. Such partnerships provide hosting providers with a few bells and whistles to offer their customers.
