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Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac Offers Speed and Storage Gains, macOS Mojave Support

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Parallels today announced version 14 of its desktop virtualization software for Mac, offering macOS Mojave support out of the box and significantly improved application launch speeds over the previous version.

This update puts a heavy focus on enhanced storage optimization, with Parallels Desktop being around 20-30 percent smaller than earlier releases. The company says virtual machines can also save as much as 20GB of additional disk space depending on how they're configured.

parallels-14-for-mac-800x500.jpg

Elsewhere, the developers have optimized the compression of memory states saved with the Snapshots tool, which takes on average 15 percent less storage space, while a new disk space wizard provides users with suggestions on how to economize storage, with advice on managing multiple virtual machines and VM snapshots.

In addition, Parallels 14 introduces several Windows features for use in macOS. For example, Microsoft Ink is now available for editing Office documents, and stylus support has been added to CorelDRAW, Fresh Paint, PowerPoint, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

Parallels Desktop also now includes Touch Bar features on compatible MacBook Pros for OneNote, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Microsoft Visio, and other apps, while a Touch Bar wizard offers users the ability to customize Windows app shortcuts from Apple's OLED function strip.


Lastly, Parallels Toolbox has received some additional Mac features including new options to screenshot entire web pages, resize images and perform memory consolidation functions.

Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac is available from August 23. Existing Parallels 12 and 13 users can upgrade to the new version for $50. New users can sign up for an $80 a year subscription or make a one-time purchase of Parallels 14 for $100. Parallels Desktop 14 Pro Edition and Business Edition both cost $100 per year. Note that a Windows license is not included in the software and must be bought separately.

Article Link: Parallels Desktop 14 for Mac Offers Speed and Storage Gains, macOS Mojave Support
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2018/08/21/parallels-desktop-14-mac-faster-mojave-support/
Parallels suck. Overpriced for offering only partial Windows support.
I made the mistake of paying but 2 weeks after I canceled the renewal. I need to use mainly Linux and secondary Windows on VMs.

Their support is horrible and man they are pricey. I moved to VirtualBox since it's free, it gets updated more often and I don't use any graphic acceleration applications. They weren't capable to update their Parallels Tools installer for the latest kernel versions of Linux.

Maybe there are features others consider worth paying for but.... not me... fooled me once and its enough.
 
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And, as far as I know, there is no Parallels migration assistant from virtual to physical, once you decide that enough is enough, and wanting to migrate all your files back to Windows hardware.

If anyone knows, please advice as i am fed up with their yearly costly upgrades, and total lack of support.

[The Parallels virtual machine file, .PVM, does not support the Windows boot environment. Gotcha!]
 
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[doublepost=1534846437][/doublepost]I've bought and used every release of Parallels since version 3 up to and including version 13. I've had problems over the years but on the whole it's been good enough and did what I needed, so a reasonably happy customer who then went off and deployed their Parallels Cloud Server software at my company on the basis of that.

I won't be upgrading to version 14 though. One area that Parallels desktop has fallen behind other similar products is on the licensing front. These days I don't do all my work on a single desktop computer, I want to be able to continue working on my MacBook when I'm not sat at my desk. To do this with Parallels desktop you need to buy multiple licenses or move the single license between computers which is both clunky and limited in that it will stop working if you make too many transfers.

Parallel's main competitor for this product is VMware Fusion, which is now more than good enough feature wise, but in addition VMware has worked out that the license should be associated with the person, not with a specific computer, presumably on the principle that I'm only working on one computer at once. So far Fusion is doing what I need and since it offers easy deployment of virtual images to their server software, guess what I'll be looking to deploy as new server software?
 
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dan9700 said:
Every year they make a new verision when macos comes out its like they make people buy a new one all the time
Click to expand...

Yep. Just like Avid (Pro Tools), Nuance (Dragon Dictate), and other software manufacturers. They get their claws in a lucrative market and hose their customers every upgrade because they can.

Pro Tools 12 still has issues on the latest version of High Sierra.

Dragon Dictate way back when had issues on Lion (or Mountain Lion, one of the two. Can't remember exactly). They continued to sell it as the latest version but with "compatibility issues" with the latest OS. That probably means they'll patch it soon, right? Nope. They then just released a new version which suddenly had compatibility for the latest OS, then said the old version wasn't compatible.
 
dan9700 said:
Every year they make a new verision when macos comes out its like they make people buy a new one all the time
Click to expand...

They don't make people buy the new one. There are plenty of discussions on here where a version will work on a newer version of the OS instead of HAVING to upgrade Parallels. Also, nothing wrong with bringing out a new version of software every year.... Apple do it. The problem is that their licensing model is archaic. Before 13 you could "get away with" having the same key on a desktop and a laptop, but since 13 you couldn't.
[doublepost=1534849312][/doublepost]
dan9700 said:
And they charge so much for existing users it should be a free upgrade
Click to expand...

Why? Who else apart from Apple gives everyone a major software revision update for free? If you subscribe, you do get it for free.

It's not without its faults, but lets not make stuff up.
 
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You can see some raw benchmarking between Fusion and Parallels here. I've just canned my subscription to Parallels, although I am running 14 now. I'll be jumping to Fusion I think. Agree on the graphics though - Parallels seems to be leaps ahead of Fusion on that front.

I keep getting stupidly annoying issues with Parallels. Like not being able to actually start machines - it just sits there with the spinning wheel. I have to kill all the services and 'hope' it starts next time.

Also, three screens on Parallels 13 was a no-go - it'd just crash after a few minutes. That was either on my iMac Pro with an LG 5k and a Dell 4k, or on my 2018 Macbook Pro with the 5k LG and 4K Dell.

Properly annoying. Not seeing that issue in '14 to be fair.
 
There is a tech preview of Fusion 2018 available which supports DX 10.1 via metal. Will see how this performs on the graphics front vs Parallels 13.

I'd like to go VMware on the Mac side as I use Workstation for work, ESXi for my lab, and my clients are pretty much vSphere.
 
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Parallels can work out to be expensive unless you have an active subscription where the upgrade is free. Just installed the free upgrade and I can report Parallels Desktop 14 runs as smooth as silk on macOS High Sierra.

Although VirtualBox is good there is no other virtualisation software that can touch Parallels. I have been using it since release 7.
 
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Guy Clark said:
Parallels can work out to be expensive unless you have an active subscription where the upgrade is free. Just installed the free upgrade and I can report Parallels Desktop 14 runs as smooth as silk on macOS High Sierra.

Although VirtualBox is good there is no other virtualisation software that can touch Parallels. I have been using it since release 7.
Click to expand...

Many people rave about VB vs fusion/parallels/ESX etc .... its good for a free product, and you can do lots with it, but it nowhere near the big players.
 
MrGimper said:
They don't make people buy the new one. There are plenty of discussions on here where a version will work on a newer version of the OS instead of HAVING to upgrade Parallels. Also, nothing wrong with bringing out a new version of software every year.... Apple do it. The problem is that their licensing model is archaic. Before 13 you could "get away with" having the same key on a desktop and a laptop, but since 13 you couldn't.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was on an every other year update path (nothing broke, just skipped a year of "new features"), usually with a $10 discount, so effectively ~$20/year.

I considered VMWare, I had used it before I committed to Parallels, and the more recent versions looked like I would prefer it, but a couple of years ago I decided when I need Windows, I want to just immerse myself in the Windows required tasks via Bootcamp, using GD/DropBox to sync work files, all my communication tools are easily accessed via a browser (primarily Chrome, that's also sync'ed across MacOS and Win10, even iOS).

Parallels does let you (VMW may do this too) virtualize a Bootcamp install which is kind of cool if you need to do a quick something in Windows (or it's just background tasks to your primary MacOS work), but I can access the Windows filesystem, most files are sync'ed and it's so quick to get into Bootcamp, that use case just doesn't come up for me.


jonnysods said:
$50 for an upgrade from 13?

Shivers that's pricey.
Click to expand...

For Windows-as-a-hobby, I suppose so, but if you're using it in any professional capacity, the cost is offset in almost no time.
 
TheShadowKnows! said:
And, as far as I know, there is no Parallels migration assistant from virtual to physical, once you decide that enough is enough, and wanting to migrate all your files back to Windows hardware.

If anyone knows, please advice as i am fed up with their yearly costly upgrades, and total lack of support.

[The Parallels virtual machine file, .PVM, does not support the Windows boot environment. Gotcha!]
Click to expand...

Use a disk imaging tool like Macrium Reflect (there's a free version) to image your Parallels "disk" to an external drive, then restore from that to a PC (Macrium can make bootable rescue CDs). You'll likely have to adjust partition sizes afterwards and probably re-validate Windows, but it should do the trick.
 
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Serif said:
[doublepost=1534846437][/doublepost]I've bought and used every release of Parallels since version 3 up to and including version 13. I've had problems over the years but on the whole it's been good enough and did what I needed, so a reasonably happy customer who then went off and deployed their Parallels Cloud Server software at my company on the basis of that.

I won't be upgrading to version 14 though. One area that Parallels desktop has fallen behind other similar products is on the licensing front. These days I don't do all my work on a single desktop computer, I want to be able to continue working on my MacBook when I'm not sat at my desk. To do this with Parallels desktop you need to buy multiple licenses or move the single license between computers which is both clunky and limited in that it will stop working if you make too many transfers.

Parallel's main competitor for this product is VMware Fusion, which is now more than good enough feature wise, but in addition VMware has worked out that the license should be associated with the person, not with a specific computer, presumably on the principle that I'm only working on one computer at once. So far Fusion is doing what I need and since it offers easy deployment of virtual images to their server software, guess what I'll be looking to deploy as new server software?
Click to expand...
I couldn't agree more re: the licensing issue. I will check out VMware, as I ended up having to buy multiple licenses for Parallels. Painful.
 
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