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If an end user version of Windows 10 for Arm does become available, will it be able to run any x86 program or will the program have to be revised? Thanks.
Theoretically yes. Windows 10 for Arm already does emulation for 32 bit apps and Microsoft is adding emulation for 64 bit apps. 64 bit emulation is in the latest test builds so you can probably google for first impressions, especially if your program is 64 bit.
 
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unless Windows for arm becomes mainstream, which I doubt will happen any time soon due to Intels grip on PC makers and Apples performance gap over other arm chips, I can't see this being that useful. Now if it could run x86 windows that would be great
 
Can someone explain why it's impossible to emulate x86 on an M1 processor? VirtualPC was able to do it on a PowerPC processor.
You can absolutely emulate x86 on an M1 (I think QEMU would be an option), but only emulating the portions that don't already exist on ARM anyway is more efficient.
 
Interestingly, VMware has also made progress with Windows ARM virtualization. Could this be a sign that Microsoft is working with hypervisor vendors before they open up their Windows ARM license?

That is interesting even though it isn't about Apple Silicon as far as I can tell. But a company like VMWare is unlikely to be running Windows on Arm publicly without some endorsement from Microsoft.
 
I'm in the same minority. I've been using Boot Camp as a gaming rig for years, and I'd be sad to lose that whenever I upgrade to an M1 Mac.

As a possible alternative, I've been playing around with streaming game services, and I've been very happily surprised by how well they work. Unfortunately, all the options have drawbacks. GeForce Now is great and reasonably priced, but you can only play games that have been specifically licensed for it. An alternative is Shadow, which gives you access to a remote Windows 10 desktop that you can play any game you want on. But Shadow is apparently about to be bought out by somebody else, and it's not clear what their future business model will be.

My hope is that by the time I upgrade, there will be some combination of virtualization software and streaming service that lets me play every game I'm interested in.

In the meantime, FYI, you can try GeForce Now for free. Definitely worth playing around with.
I just have a Windows gaming box in another room to my Mac now (it makes a lot of noise when gaming) and then stream the games to my Mac using Valve's Steam or Moonlight. In the long run, will probably be cheaper than signing up for a streaming service. Most of the games I have been playing this year have actually been free ones Epic has been giving away weekly from their store.
 
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That is interesting even though it isn't about Apple Silicon as far as I can tell. But a company like VMWare is unlikely to be running Windows on Arm publicly without some endorsement from Microsoft.
Nope, not about ASi, but just shows that there's likely some movement from Microsoft on Windows on ARM if both virtualization vendors are suddenly making progress.
 
Theoretically yes. Windows 10 for Arm already does emulation for 32 bit apps and Microsoft is adding emulation for 64 bit apps. 64 bit emulation is in the latest test builds so you can probably google for first impressions, especially if your program is 64 bit.
Thanks. Last question, hopefully :)

If Windows ARM does emulation (instead of virtualization) of x86 programs, with the speed be similar to those x86 programs currently running in VM or Parallels on an Intel based Mac?
 
Thanks. Last question, hopefully :)

If Windows ARM does emulation (instead of virtualization) of x86 programs, with the speed be similar to those x86 programs currently running in VM or Parallels on an Intel based Mac?
It's not really emulation or not for the most part. It is a translation from x86 (or x86-64 in beta) to Arm (AArch64). This is much like what Apple does on the M1 for MacOS x86-64 software with Rosetta 2. So Microsoft's x86 compatibility is going to be reasonably fast like Rosetta on MacOS though from what I understand it has to do more work than Rosetta because of a couple of features missing on standard Arm CPUs that Apple added to the M1.
 
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It's not really emulation or not for the most part. It is a translation from x86 (or x86-64 in beta) to Arm (AArch64). This is much like what Apple does on the M1 for MacOS x86-64 software with Rosetta 2. So Microsoft's x86 compatibility is going to be reasonably fast like Rosetta on MacOS though from what I understand it has to do more work than Rosetta because of a couple of features missing on standard Arm CPUs that Apple added to the M1.
Thank you.
 
So, bottom line on running Linux on M1 (as a user, not a hacker/fiddler) is a ways off yet. Anyone have a guess as to when an "it just works" distro will be available to run inside a VM on an M1 machine?
 
So, bottom line on running Linux on M1 (as a user, not a hacker/fiddler) is a ways off yet. Anyone have a guess as to when an "it just works" distro will be available to run inside a VM on an M1 machine?
I'm having luck running Ubuntu for Arm without any trouble on UTM. I haven't tried Parallels but if it works in UTM it should work in Parallels (probably better because it is supported software.) Why do you think the bottom line is that Linux is a problem on Parallels?

Edit: Right now I'm trying to get UTM working as x86-64 emulation on the M1. The distributed version doesn't work. I'm hoping the dev branch works better.
 
I have a MacBook Pro 16 with a egpu box and a 3080 card, which has been great running all the latest PC games, I got a xbox series x at launch as my backup game system. When I can no longer run Windows 10 on a Mac and can no longer do games. I will no longer be gaming on a PC base platform. The Xbox Series X and future systems are so powerful you might as well buy a gaming console every three years at $500 for gaming.

Still going to be cheaper than a gaming PC with expensive gaming cards. I will use a Mac and its OS for personal business and work business only. A final end to Mac gaming and a home machine that could do it all.

The only hope Apple might have for gaming is if they can get VR gaming going, but Oculus has quite the lead.
 
Installed the new Parallels and a copy of the insider preview of Windows for ARM onto my M1 MacBook Air... just for fun.
Appears to work pretty well. The couple of work apps I need work fine over Citrix (better, actually, as I don't need to VPN in to the work network when running through Citrix), so I just use them that way directly on macOS. But still kinda fun to play with.

Now to find a license key for the insider build of Windows on ARM...
 
I'm having luck running Ubuntu for Arm without any trouble on UTM. I haven't tried Parallels but if it works in UTM it should work in Parallels (probably better because it is supported software.) Why do you think the bottom line is that Linux is a problem on Parallels?

Edit: Right now I'm trying to get UTM working as x86-64 emulation on the M1. The distributed version doesn't work. I'm hoping the dev branch works better.
I am a CentOS user, and am looking to switch to whatever ends up replacing it when all the dust settles. I don't know when that particular distro is going to be ready to load-and-go in a VM running on M1 hardware. Should have been more precise in my query.
 
There's very little software that's exclusive to Windows. Most programs are done in Python, Java, or JavaScript and can just run on any computer.
If only that were true. I found it impossible to find local Accounting and Payroll software for the Mac. Most business software companies just ignore the Mac and make their Windows based apps available as online cloud based apps to placate Mac users rather than develop a native Mac app.
 
You will get better results with a "PC on a Stick" computer plugged into the M1. If Someone made a thunderbolt version of one of those (most are USB-C already) that was optimized to run on the M1's port and talked to OSX, they already are close to the same price as these Virtual solutions, and many of them are preloaded with Windows 10 already (a $130 savings right there). Now these currently are probably not good enough for gaming, but somebody could make a piece of hardware that just plugged into any of the M1 or future MX series machines, that had a GPU, and used the M1's keyboards, mice, trackpads, and screen. There is probably a market if they were cheap enough.
 
2.5x less energy?
So it actually produces energy now? It can never exceed 100% less energy draw, I don't get it?

If it now uses 5 (fictive) and before it used 12.5, that's 60% less energy draw..
If one uses 10 watts and the other uses 4 watts it uses 2.5x less energy. Conversely, one uses 2.5x more energy than the other. It’s relative power draw.
 
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Now I wanna see a comparison between the M1 Macbook Air and a Windows laptop running x86 applications.
Yes, and games. If this makes most windows games playable on a Mac, and obviously running any regular windows application at an appropriate speed, then good bye Boot Camp.
 
If running the ARM Windows via parallels does that also mean you have to have ARM versions of all your apps? Looking for a solution to run Solidworks on M1 Macs...
Don’t think you will succeed. Solidworks GPU requirements are pretty specific
 
I am a CentOS user, and am looking to switch to whatever ends up replacing it when all the dust settles. I don't know when that particular distro is going to be ready to load-and-go in a VM running on M1 hardware. Should have been more precise in my query.
Bummer on the lack of RedHat support. Did CentOS ever support AArch64?
 
I have found myself a bit irritated a few times in the last two years at the parallels licensing situation but I have to say they put the time in
This. Even though they frame it as a "purchase", Parallels is really a subscription because it tends to stop working with new MacOS releases every year and you have to upgrade.

If they MUST do this, I'd really rather they just bite the bullet and go full on subscription. At least then you don't have to ask yourself "Should I stay on _old MacOS version_ to save $50?"

$50 a year isn't that bad, it just shouldn't be tied to MacOS upgrades.

Also, personal licensing really should be by person, not machine.
 
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