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.”