Microsoft Says ARM Windows Virtualization on Apple Silicon Macs 'Not a Supported Scenario'

[MacRumors]

Macs powered by ‌Apple silicon do not support Windows and there is no Boot Camp feature like there is on Intel Macs, but support for Windows is a feature that many users would like to see.

However, Microsoft has dampened hopes that Windows will ever work on Apple silicon, saying that running an Arm version of Windows 11 on M1 Macs, via virtualization or otherwise, is not "a supported scenario."

A Microsoft spokesperson made the comments to The Register on Friday, suggesting that neither native support for Apple silicon nor support through virtualization is something the software giant is considering for its Arm architectures.

Apple's ‌M1‌ chip is a custom Arm SoC, so it's not possible to install the x86 version of Windows or x86 Windows apps using Boot Camp, as was the case with previous Intel-based Macs.

However, in November 2020, shortly after Apple debuted its first M1 Macs, a developer was able to virtualize the Arm version of Windows on Apple's ‌M1‌ chip with no emulation, igniting hopes that official support would be developed down the line.

In the meantime, users have been using Parallels virtualization software to run Insider builds of Windows 10 and Windows 11 developed for Arm hardware, but there are indications that this route may soon be no longer viable, either.

As noted by The Register, last week a Windows 11 Virtual Machine running on an M1 Mac with Parallels Desktop 17 began throwing up a hardware compatibility error on an Insider build. Parallels has since released version 17.0.1 of its software, which seems to resolve the issue, allowing Windows 11 to again run on M1 Macs, for now at least.

How Parallels has achieved this is unclear, and we have reached out to them for comment, including whether support is still a long-term goal. The company previously promised full support for Windows on Apple silicon when the operating system launches in October.

Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi last year said that Windows coming to ‌M1‌ Macs is "up to Microsoft." The ‌M1‌ chip contains the core technologies needed to run Windows, but Microsoft has to decide whether to license its Arm version of Windows to Mac users.

Article Link: Microsoft Says ARM Windows Virtualization on Apple Silicon Macs 'Not a Supported Scenario'

 

[cwt2nospam]

Microsoft who?

 

[jlc1978]

Of course MS won't support Apple Silicon, they want you to subscribe to Windows in a cloud as the way to access Windows on non-Wintel machines.

 

[4743913]

This is unfortunate. All the more reason to grab a Macbook Pro 16 if you want to game.

 

[Kylo83]

You can’t run windows 11 on bootcamp on MacBook Pro 16 Intel I tried says it won’t work

 

[iBluetooth]

Why would MSFT want to limit their operating system to not running on M1? I think Parallels did a good solution, but I am afraid to buy that now as it may not last.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Microsoft being but hurt embarrassed that windows runs better on Arm Macs. Lol.

does Windows 11 still have annoying launch splash screens that interrupt navigation/typing being don’t on other Apps?! Uggh.

 

[rgeneral]

It will only happen when intel released an arm CPU.

 

[orderoftheditch]

I purchased a Surface RT tablet back in 2012 and this was Microsoft’s first attempt at making proper Windows run on ARM. What is funny is that almost ten years later it is still not a great experience and how Apple triumphed over Microsoft with moving macOS to ARM. I have played with Windows 10 on my M1 Mini with Parallels and the performance seems better than on Qualcomm WOA devices.
Windows NT by its very nature was designed to run on multiple architectures, with early versions running on x86, PowerPC, MIPS and later on Itanium. So the fact that with over a decade of engineering resources that Windows on ARM is still bad is just laughable.

 

[andy861]

What about Parallels 17 and Win11? Final release won't work?

 

[GadgetBen]

If you haven't migrated already from Windows tat then you need to seek help.

 

[macOS Lynx]

This article and the source article are both garbage.

The original website was encountering an error message in Parallels with the latest Dev build of W11A and so they reached out to Microsoft, who said they don’t support that scenario.

Nowhere did Microsoft ever say they have no plans to support Windows on ARM on M1/Parallels/VMware, or that Windows on ARM will never support M1, just that it’s not currently a supported scenario.

 

[Phil77354]

I expect that Microsoft will eventually support Windows virtualization on the Apple ARM silicon. From a practical, business standpoint, they don't want to be shut out of this growing Apple platform, simple as that.

Added: as @macOS Lynx says above, Microsoft is simply stating that they don't support it now.

 

[macOS Lynx]

What about Parallels 17 and Win11? Final release won't work?

It most likely will. There’s a bug with W11A and Parallels on M1 right now, which is the entire basis of this original article, and the author decided that Microsoft saying “we currently don’t support this” = “we will never support this”, even though the bug is also something the Parallels team could fix.

don’t worry, it’ll work in the future, people are just jumping to conclusions way too fast.

 

[Kylo83]

I’m sticking with the MacBook Pro 16 Intel I use bootcamp to game all the time

 

[MrGimper]

If you haven't migrated already from Windows tat then you need to seek help.

And if you think it's that easy, you need to leave your basement once in a while .....

 

[neuropsychguy]

Microsoft who?

They are just some random company with a market capitalization of $2.232 trillion. I’m sure there is more information about them on the web.

 

[Villarrealadrian]

This is very bad news, seems Microsoft and Intel have some sort of love relationship

 

[n-evo]

I just realized I never installed VMware Fusion with Windows 10 after I did an erase and install of macOS Big Sur last year. Haven't missed it to be honest. My need for Windows has been steadily decreasing over the past years to the point where I don't need it at all anymore. However, having an official option to run it on Apple Silicon that doesn't involve a monthly subscription would be nice.

 

[4743913]

You can’t run windows 11 on bootcamp on MacBook Pro 16 Intel I tried says it won’t work

I was speaking about ANY windows. Parallels isn't really great for Windows 10 gaming either. There are a few games that are playable, but nowhere near enough for me to leave the Macbook Pro 16 now..

 

[johnalan]

Just grab a junker x86 box for Windows needs.

 

[matt3526]

I used to use windows only for gaming. Now that I don't game anymore I have no use for windows anyway.

 

[podycust]

Microsoft clearly dont like money ? or I guess they wish everyone use there subscription of windows in the cloud - which dont work very well offline ??

I guess they still love intel too much, well their twitter team loved Intels anti-apple ads last year lol

 

[Sasparilla]

I purchased a Surface RT tablet back in 2012 and this was Microsoft’s first attempt at making proper Windows run on ARM. ...So the fact that with over a decade of engineering resources that Windows on ARM is still bad is just laughable.

Almost certainly Intel paid Microsoft alot of money to sit on its ARM solution. Intel has a long history of paying companies (hardware and software) to do things it wants.

Odd for Microsoft to lock out those potential sales - they must think they'll come out ahead by denying themselves those. We certainly know which side of the equation Intel would want Microsoft to be on here.

 

[MauiPa]

Antitrust. Where is the coalition for windows fairness