Parallels Desktop for Mac Updated With Support for ProMotion Displays and M1 Ultra Chip

[Larsvonhier]

I’m interested to know what simulation software you are running.

Nothing too fancy. LTSpice for Windows (although replaced by current version for macOS), old SwitcherCAD stuff and PSpice. The really heavy luggage is Altium Designer 20 with integrated Spice simulation and also the 3D PCB viewer. Works way faster on my M1 air (Parallels 17, Windows 10 ARM) than on Mac Pro 12 core 3GHz machine with same Parallels 17 and Win10 Intel... without getting hot or loud ;-)

 

[jlc1978]

It's not really up to Apple, though. Microsoft has an exclusive contract with Qualcomm to use only their processors, so running ARM Windows on Mac isn't really licensed, which is why we have to settle for technological previews, instead of shipping OS'es. Once that agreement runs out, MS will be free to let Apple do a Boot Camp for ARM Windows. Federighi has said as much. Apple is ready to implement it, but they have to get the OK from Microsoft first.

It will be interesting to see what Apple does and when. I'm not convinced bootcamp is high on the priority list unlike when they migrated to Intel processors. Personally, I'd rather see them implement a VM like environment that allows the same switching between OS without a restart. Bootcamp was a pain if you needed to, or just wanted to, use both OS.

 

[Homy]

Is it worth it for running windows games on a M1 Pro Macbook Pro? Do many games even run?

Check the following links:

Home - Gaming on M1 Apple silicon Macs and MacBooks, bugs, fixes, compatiblity and troubleshooting guides - AppleGamingWiki

www.applegamingwiki.com

https://www.youtube.com/c/andytizer

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyz_xnHUX9ua7OJobIP0ng

 

[spacecadet610]

I bought the 1 year subscription several weeks ago for Parallels 17. Do I get a free upgrade to 18?

 

[BobSc]

If Parallels offer virtualization on both iPad and Mac for same annual subscription fees, then I will consider it. Otherwise, way too expensive for what it does (or does not do).

My income depends upon being able to use complicated software that only runs on Windows. But the last thing I want is a PC. Parallels allows me to make lots of money and keep my Mac equipment. Parallels is cheap at twice the price if your income depends upon it.

 

[Homy]

I bought the 1 year subscription several weeks ago for Parallels 17. Do I get a free upgrade to 18?

Yes, if you bought the yearly subscription.

 

[MacBH928]

Can someone explain to me what is the benefit of running these virtual software on M1? My understanding is that there is an ARM Windows but the x86 apps are missing which misses the whole point of running Windows in the first place.

Fusion is free for personal use.

thats very interesting, Parallels $100 upgrade prices is a huge reason why it kept me away from it. How do they even benefit from doing this business model? I am guessing they make money from corporates but still they could have charged like $20 or something for personal.

Is there any disadvantages? I heard parallels is better at running games.

The other way round: Windows on ARM emulates x86 instructions (just like Rosetta 2 does on macOS for Apple Silicon).
I have successfully run even complex commercial software like Altium Designer (ECAD) and simulation software for engineering tasks.

How well does it run the software? Does the mouse arrow move in slow motion? does the fans blow like crazy?

 

[fredn]

What the heck, I just bought Version 17 in January to go with my new MBP. Ridiculous. Software doesn't even last a year anymore. What's wrong with updating v17 for at least a couple years before a major version bump?

 

[MikeDr206]

Can anyone who uses this software on m1 confirm if it can emulate standard x86 windoze? I need to run proprietary software that is windows only and it’s the reason I’m clinging to my Intel macbook for as long as I have.

I can also confirm. I have a piece of proprietary software from Windows XP days, and it works.

 

[MikeDr206]

How well does it run the software? Does the mouse arrow move in slow motion? does the fans blow like crazy?

I’m running Quicken and a piece of proprietary software, and it’s no slower (and possibly faster) on my M1 MBA than on my Mac Mini 2018 i7.

 

[radus]

What the heck, I just bought Version 17 in January to go with my new MBP. Ridiculous. Software doesn't even last a year anymore. What's wrong with updating v17 for at least a couple years before a major version bump?

If you only want to virtualize OS X there is a new alternative: VirtualBuddy . For me a better one.
But you need to compile it by yourself using the newest XCode - Beta.

 

[davedrives]

Could you run Revit and autocad in these double emulations at a reasonable pace? Anyone trying?

 

[HDFan]

Wake me when I can actually customize the VM

How do you want to customize it?

Can anyone who uses this software on m1 confirm if it can emulate standard x86 windoze?

Yes, multiple replies above.

Crossover is a nice idea, but lacks serious support for most commercial pieces of software.

Such as?

They couldn't just add M1 Ultra support in 17 version?

They did. 17 works fine on my Ultra.

I bought the 1 year subscription several weeks ago for Parallels 17. Do I get a free upgrade to 18?

If you bought the yearly subscription yes, otherwise you'll have to ask them.

he x86 apps are missing which misses the whole point of running Windows in the first place.

As above not true.

I have tried to install 18 on a Studioi but the installer keeps crashing.

 

[MacRS4]

Can someone explain to me what is the benefit of running these virtual software on M1? My understanding is that there is an ARM Windows but the x86 apps are missing which misses the whole point of running Windows in the first place.

Windows ARM has its own abstraction layer to run x86 code. So for example my Windows ARM virtualised in Parallels is running Office x86, including Visio and Project. Couple of things don't work - Skype for Business for example and a couple of other things, but most things work just fine.

It's much like how Apple allows you to run Intel MacOS stuff on an M1 Mac via Rosetta2.

 

[Homy]

What the heck, I just bought Version 17 in January to go with my new MBP. Ridiculous. Software doesn't even last a year anymore. What's wrong with updating v17 for at least a couple years before a major version bump?

Yes they do but not always easy to know. Parallels Desktop has been updated every year in Aug since version 8 in 2012. Here you can see the version history of Crossover.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Is it worth it for running windows games on a M1 Pro Macbook Pro? Do many games even run?

They run, but not as well as you would like. You can run overwatch but when it gets into heavy fighting it's chop city.

 

[svish]

Good to know about this.

 

[Yebubbleman]

How do you want to customize it?

Choose my number of cores, amount of RAM, dedicated disk space, virtual hard disk file size and location, which virtual interfaces I assign and what gets connected to them. Y'know the crap I've been able to do on a standard VM on VMware Fusion or Parallels Desktop on the Intel side of things for eons, now.

 

[Larsvonhier]

Too tedious to quote various replies to my postings, so I combine my thoughts here in one go:

- M1 runs Parallels Desktop 17 quite well, I regard newer versions boasting "quicker start times" and "improved compatibility" as pure money making marketing. This is understandable from the commercial standpoint, but one does not have to fall for it each consecutive year...

- x86 emulation in Win10 and Win11 for ARM is very impressive and you can just forget about "stuttering" or slow mouse pointer movement. Not an issue (quite the opposite: we run full blown CAD packages here faster than on Windows on a Mac Pro). Anyone who comes up with such questions has clearly not used Windows on a Mac since, umm, VirtualPC on a PowerPC Mac ;-)

- as for what does not run on CrossOver - just visit their compatibility site here and see for yourself. Some programs run well, but clearly not the majority.

 

[jlc1978]

Can someone explain to me what is the benefit of running these virtual software on M1? My understanding is that there is an ARM Windows but the x86 apps are missing which misses the whole point of running Windows in the first place.

Along with MS' x86 compatibility layer, some apps, such as Office, will install as ARM native apps.

thats very interesting, Parallels $100 upgrade prices is a huge reason why it kept me away from it. How do they even benefit from doing this business model? I am guessing they make money from corporates but still they could have charged like $20 or something for personal.

Parallels upgrades yearly and pushes the subscription model. I've found a version generally lasts 3 years before there are enough upgrades to warrant thinking about buying a new version. Given how well AS runs Office in Windows ARM that timeline may stretch.

How well does it run the software? Does the mouse arrow move in slow motion? does the fans blow like crazy?

Works great on my 14" MBP with AS. No fans, as fast as an HP Envy I had. Only time I noticed a bit of a difference was when I ran an Excel spreadsheet with 30+ sheets and lots of macros, references, calculations, and conditional formatting. Even then it ran quite nice in Parallels, faster than in Mac Excel. Weird.

What the heck, I just bought Version 17 in January to go with my new MBP. Ridiculous. Software doesn't even last a year anymore. What's wrong with updating v17 for at least a couple years before a major version bump?

Doesn't make them money every year, hence the push for subscriptions. Buying it outright is just a way to be able to use it beyond a year.

I suspect, if VMWare keeps Fusion free for non-commercial use, Parallels will need to rethink their model or really make their software blow Fusion out of the water. I suspect, for non-game software, that will be hard to do and thus people will switch to Fusion. I just wish VMWare would make it easy to import a Parallel's VM.

 

[fredn]

Doesn't make them money every year, hence the push for subscriptions. Buying it outright is just a way to be able to use it beyond a year.

I guess I'll just use v17 until it stops supporting the OS -- Maybe like macOS 15 or something like that, and get v20 or whatever in 2-3 years. As long as v17 continues to work, I don't see the point of upgrading. Yeesh.

 

[hajime]

Tried a few games under Parallels 18. Why Shadow of the Tomb Raider performs very badly even at medium settings? Lots of lags and graphical glitches.

Also, it installed Windows 11 Home. What if I want Windows 11 Professional?

 

[jlc1978]

Tried a few games under Parallels 18. Why Shadow of the Tomb Raider performs very badly even at medium settings? Lots of lags and graphical glitches.

Also, it installed Windows 11 Home. What if I want Windows 11 Professional?

Need pro license key in that case.

 

[hajime]

Need pro license key in that case.

Pro license key to get better games performance or to get Windows 11 Professional?

 

[jlc1978]

Tried a few games under Parallels 18. Why Shadow of the Tomb Raider performs very badly even at medium settings? Lots of lags and graphical glitches.

Also, it installed Windows 11 Home. What if I want Windows 11 Professional?

Need pro license key in that case

Pro license key to get better games performance or to get Windows 11 Professional?

to get Win 11 Pro.