Parallels Desktop 16 Brings macOS Big Sur Support, Multi-Touch Gestures, 20% Faster DirectX, and More

[TravelsInBlue]

I think a big part of the question is down to what Apple's competitors will do, i.e. if Microsoft will give switching away from x86 another shot themselves.

Not sure why they’d do that, the fact that Apple seems to be making consumer hostile decisions for both their hardware and software has caused me to purchase my first PC laptop in over 15 years.

Lack of compatibility or support with legacy apps along with the uncertainty of VM support for Windows was the last straw.

They can market all they want, but the decision to ARM seems to be driven by the desire to cut out the middle man for one of the most expensive components in their hardware, the processor. The more components manufactured under one roof, the greater their margins.

 

[Sasparilla]

stupid question but can you install a copy of Big Sur as a VM using this? even if your macbook is no longer supported by Big Sur? or is this only to get Windows on your mac

It's an interesting question. I have a cheesegrater Mac Pro that was blocked from Catalina. So I upgraded my Parallels to the latest and installed Catalina on it. It ran and ran well - but there were issues where graphics (presumably part of the Metal API) weren't rendering correctly (I think the top of Safari was transparent). It was very annoying. I gave up on it being a get through solution. YMMV.

Would expect something similar with Big Sur on a non supported machine.

 

[jmgregory1]

It will be interesting to see how things play out with Apple Silicon computers and Windows / X86, more from the standpoint of what Microsoft will do if Apple‘s new silicon drastically outpaces where Intel is performance wise, which is what I expect we will see.

If Microsoft wants to move forward, they’ll have to make a move away from X86 and at some point stop supporting old devices and software, which has been an issue for them given their widespread use globally. But much like hardware changes and improvements that have required walking away from commonly used older technologies, Microsoft will get to that point where they have to make significant enough of changes in order to keep up with the ever-changing market.

To me, Microsoft is like General Motors, they update and freshen their vehicles, but effectively continue to use the same underlying structures and parts, because it’s easy to do and it keeps their customers happy not having to change how they use or work on their vehicles.

 

[mike...]

You got that wrong. They charge you half the price for a non-"Pro" version with CPU and RAM limits. Same as a restaurant with a cheaper "early bird" menu. Would you like them to remove the non-Pro version? Same but higher price for everyone?

Actually you got that wrong. They never used to have a Desktop and Pro version. The Desktop version never had such low RAM limits. They introduced Pro specifically to nickle-and-dime people and lock them in to a subscription payment.

This is like a restaurant selling you a steak one day, and then on your next visit telling you you only get a burger for the same price and you have to buy a burger once per year, or pay more to get a steak.

 

[Blu-ray1972]

The only reason why I go with it is I can run Mac OS and Window OS at the same time. So I can use the Windows Office and not the Mac version which Microsoft hardly updates and is usually filled with bugs. I also run other windows programs which I can't run on Mac or the Mac version sucks.

It works on Big Sur. I've installed it.

It's not working for everyone though. There are still issues.

 

[lpolarityl]

every year when a new macOS comes out they make us pay another 49.99 not fair

I bought version 15 less than a year ago and got the notice that I can upgrade to 16 for free. When my subscription expires I'll have to purchase it again, which makes sense because it is an annual subscription. For folks who don't think it is fair to be forced to pay an annual fee, have you really used Parallels? It is easily the best virtualization tool for MacOS and worth the annual fee (IMO). Having the "Desktop" and "Pro" versions is good, options are good. Not everyone needs all the features and be forced to spend money on features they will never use.

Paralells is not VMWare, they don't have a server space presence like VMWare. By charging an annual fee and having two variants they can actually make money and keep improving their software. Good software should be paid for. There are tons of developers on MacRumors, I'm pretty sure they have no issue with Paralells' payment model.

 

[Blu-ray1972]

I bought version 15 less than a year ago and got the notice that I can upgrade to 16 for free. When my subscription expires I'll have to purchase it again, which makes sense because it is an annual subscription. For folks who don't think it is fair to be forced to pay an annual fee, have you really used Parallels? It is easily the best virtualization tool for MacOS and worth the annual fee (IMO).

Only when it works properly. There are some bugs that I've reported and they never fixed. I've provided them with video of the bug, detailed tech and system diagnostics. They still want to remote into my Mac to see it. I'm like "Is the video not good enough for you?" I don't want their hands in my data.

 

[FWRN]

Anyone know how it compares to VMWare Fusion?

 

[MrGimper]

At least Parallels is now in front, supporting DirectX 11

Fusion vNext will have DX11 and OpenGL 4.1 as it’s already in the tech preview.

 

[chucker23n1]

Actually you got that wrong. They never used to have a Desktop and Pro version. The Desktop version never had such low RAM limits. They introduced Pro specifically to nickle-and-dime people and lock them in to a subscription payment.

This is like a restaurant selling you a steak one day, and then on your next visit telling you you only get a burger for the same price and you have to buy a burger once per year, or pay more to get a steak.

Believe it or not, but restaurants raising prices is a real thing.

 

[jlocker]

I can tell you running Big Sur and Boot Camp on a 2019 MacBook Pro 16 and Samsung's new G7 32" monitor is amazing.
The new Samsung G7 with QLED and 240hz is amazing. With Bootcamp I get AMD FreeSync Pro support out of the Mac and the graphics on PC games with DirectX 12 will make you cry. With the Doom Enteral I have never played so such a smooth and fast game system. I will miss boot camp when it is gone. I will have to settle for a xbox x or a PS 5 for gaming down the road.

 

[sw1tcher]

every year when a new macOS comes out they make us pay another 49.99 not fair

Would you rather they switch to a subscription fee and charge $4.99/mo ($59.88/yr) or more?

I, for one, am glad to see someone still offering the ability to purchase with a 1 time payment.

I detest the subscription model.

 

[Chris The Bipolarbear]

oust successfully installed on iMac 27 and macPRO 2013 running Big Sur installed windows 10 pro and set as insider and got it to run windows 10 preview build 2185.
Note If you are going to run windows insider build you have to "enable Nested Virtualization" under CPU & Memory advanced settings.

 

[TiggrToo]

Just try any linux distro that is not on a LTS branch.
See your experience when an update comes.

So, anecdotal evidence only. Got it.

 

[sw1tcher]

Parallels Inc. has solved the problem with subscription software. You buy the software at full price with full ownership, but you always have to buy a new one every year.

Why do you have to buy a new one every year? Does it stop working after 1 year?

 

[l3it3r]

You do realize Big Sur isn't out, right?

The Beta is though, and if it doesn't work there....

 

[l3it3r]

I updated to 16 this morning, and had a few issues getting my main Windows 10 image to boot back up.. kept hanging at the windows boot screen with the rolling 'ball of dots' -- ultimately had to go to activity monitor and Sample my Windows 10 Pro (whatever the name of your VM is) process to 'kickstart' it back into gear.

Working well otherwise so far.

 

[Chris The Bipolarbear]

Important This applies to Both Parallels 15 & 16. If you going to run the latest window insider builds then you need to "enable nested Virtualisation" Found in CPU & Memory Configuration advanced settings.
"If you don't do this then virtual machine will freeze when try to update."

 

[gank41]

I'm on Catalina and just upgraded to Parallels 16 and am going to try installing the Big Sur beta now. So far so good. I'll update when it's done as for how it went..

View attachment 943116

I was able to get macOS11 installed and although it does show that Parallel's Tools are installed (and even tried reinstalling), it's not fully going full screen and still feels kinda wonky. My other VM's all work great so far, though. Although it's only been a few hours lol. Time will tell, but starting up a VM does seem a little faster? Maybe I'm just assuming it will be and my mind's thinking it is.

 

[Azrael9]

In a nutshell,

I've long been curious about Parallels.

Can anyone tell me how it works vs Bootcamp.

Most of native performance?

Can you work via 'coherence' to use your 'Windows' apps via the Mac dock?

If I have Bootcamp set up...can Parallels access my Windows apps whilst I'm still in the Mac?

GPU performance decent..?

Azrael.

 

[DrKarl]

Graphics is still only OpenGL 3? Parallels has not updated the virtual graphics device / driver in many years!! OpenGL 3 does not support any of the Windows graphics software that I want to run under Parallels... I need at least OpenGL 3.3; some apps require 4.0 or higher. Each yearly upgrade to Parallels really brings very little to the table other than MacOS compatibility. For the massive amounts of money they collect for yearly upgrades, they could assign at least one engineer to the graphics emulation.

 

[mike...]

Believe it or not, but restaurants raising prices is a real thing.

How many restaurants do you know that doubled the price overnight, and gave you the option to eat half as much food for the old price?

 

[blackcrayon]

There's absolutely no chance Microsoft would move away from X86. It's doesn't even make sense for them to do something like this.

Move away, no. But move further into ARM (where devices like the Surface probably need to go if the best "large mobile" stuff will be on ARM) is possible. Nothing stops them from offering shrinkwrapped Windows for ARM if they think it'll sell some copies.

 

[JMStearnsX2]

stupid question but can you install a copy of Big Sur as a VM using this? even if your macbook is no longer supported by Big Sur? or is this only to get Windows on your mac

I was able to do this in the past with Mojave & Parallels, my 2011 iMac could't install Mojave without hacks, but I could install & run it in Parallels with no issues. I currently have a VM of all versions of Mac OS X from 10.6-10.15 on my Mac.

 

[dbsmith1]

You do realize Big Sur isn't out, right?

Not sure where you're getting your information? I just installed Parallels 16 on my Mac running Big Sur beta 4. It is happily running Windows 10 (2004). Haven't tested exhaustively but it sure seems to be working just fine.