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What are the disadvantages in running Windows 10/11 on Arm based MacBook Pro?
- Thread starter hajime
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Microsoft has yet to open the sale of ARM version of Windows 10/11 so purchase/upgrade is out of question.
Windows 10 might work but you are on a perpetual insider build situation, which means it is tough to run mission crucial programs without bugs or issues, plus constant update could break anything.
Windows 11 has extra requirements that is difficult to bypass on Mac (you can’t just boot off of windows installation media like on an Intel Mac), so installing or upgrading from Windows 10 is already tricky.
There’s other caveats I don’t know, but all in all, if Windows is very important, get a PC and remote into it from your Mac to use it.
Windows 10 might work but you are on a perpetual insider build situation, which means it is tough to run mission crucial programs without bugs or issues, plus constant update could break anything.
Windows 11 has extra requirements that is difficult to bypass on Mac (you can’t just boot off of windows installation media like on an Intel Mac), so installing or upgrading from Windows 10 is already tricky.
There’s other caveats I don’t know, but all in all, if Windows is very important, get a PC and remote into it from your Mac to use it.
Do not buy an ARM Mac and assume it will run Windows in some fashion similar to how bootcamp did. That's not going to happen any time soon. At best, you will be running it in some sort of VM ware... which is not ideal for some applications... or downright impossible.
Said VM ware is still very speculative at best... meaning that you currently can possibly run an ARM version of Windows on an ARM Mac... not a non-ARM version of Windows. So it's not even the same version of Windows that you would normally be using... as such, applications that run under Windows, may not do so under the ARM version.
If you have a real need to run Windows, your best bet is to get a PC or an INTEL based Mac. Unlike Apple, who jumped in with both feet in their switch to ARM, Microsoft is less likely to take the plunge to the same degree. As such, all that software you intend to run isn't going to be ported to run under an ARM version of Windows.
In other words, with ARM Macs, you really are "all in" from this point forward.
Thanks for the information. I already have a desktop PC. Since I am working at home, there is no need for a laptop but I am using my MBP 16" 2019 as the main computer for web browsing and office stuffs. Portability allows me to work at different areas at home. I used to run CAD on my MBP only but moved all files to my desktop PC over half a year ago.
I am trying to justify whether to trade-in my MBP 16" 2019 with a small dent now or wait and see how the software side goes a year later. Currently it does seem that there are many compatibility issues for non-Mac software. So by "all in", do you mean if I buy a M1X MBP 16" 2021, I expect to use it only for running Mac applications and everything Windows is trouble? At first I thought if getting a M1X with 64GB RAM could run the standard Windows and normal Windows application at similar or faster speed than my MBP 16" 2019, it may not be a bad idea. However, since only an ARM version of Windows can be installed on M1/X MBP, it does not sound good.
Another reason to replace the MBP is that some features of the up-coming MacOS are not compatible with Intel Mac. Looks like sooner or later, we will need to move to M1 Mac.
I am trying to justify whether to trade-in my MBP 16" 2019 with a small dent now or wait and see how the software side goes a year later. Currently it does seem that there are many compatibility issues for non-Mac software. So by "all in", do you mean if I buy a M1X MBP 16" 2021, I expect to use it only for running Mac applications and everything Windows is trouble? At first I thought if getting a M1X with 64GB RAM could run the standard Windows and normal Windows application at similar or faster speed than my MBP 16" 2019, it may not be a bad idea. However, since only an ARM version of Windows can be installed on M1/X MBP, it does not sound good.
Another reason to replace the MBP is that some features of the up-coming MacOS are not compatible with Intel Mac. Looks like sooner or later, we will need to move to M1 Mac.
So to summarize, at least on paper, Apple has created very fast MBP with nice thermal & batter life and some ports returning back to the machines. Users who only use these machines with Mac applications will gain lots of benefits. However, those who plan to use these 2021 machines will have troubles if they want to run Windows applications on them and the MBP 16" 2019 is actually the best machine and the last MBP for those who use Bootcamp?
Internaut
macrumors 65816
Plenty of us are usefully using Windows 10 and 11 on ARM based Macs butt all of the above applies. If you're running Intel based Windows software, then Microsoft's Intel emulation is mostly on a par with Rosetta but not all software will run. Also, with respect to the perpetual Windows Insider situation, it is entirely Microsofts prerogative to take it away.
It's a convenience for me, but my six year old Thinkpad Carbon is a worthy enough standby.
It's a convenience for me, but my six year old Thinkpad Carbon is a worthy enough standby.
Is Microsoft's Intel emulation a part of Windows ARM OS? Does having more RAM help?
Do you expect the compatibility situation will be better a year from now?
How about Linux compatibility? It seems that now they allow M1 Mac to run Linux natively.
Internaut
macrumors 65816
As far as I can tell, it is. More RAM always helps but I run Windows on a base MacBook Air, typically with a few edge tabs open, a Windows only soft phone (only one that we can get working with one of our systems), some WSL (Bash) windows and sometimes other applications. Nothing big!
I think as with Rosetta, compatibility is as good as it's going to get. Only thing that failed for me, so far, was OpenConnect (VPN) but I was fortunate enough to be able to get Cisco AnyConnect from the Windows App Store.
In terms of being able install Linux as the OS for an M1 Mac, it's getting there. However, for me it runs sufficiently well in Parallels that I don't see the need to do this. Same for Windows which, on an M1 Mac, is quite frankly an embarrassment to Microsoft's ARM hardware efforts.
Yes, and no, it doesn't have more RAM help unless you allocate more RAM in Parallels. (which of course takes RAM away from MacOS.
If you mean Parallels and Windows on Arm running in a VM, some, but if you mean running Windows on Arm on the M1 itself, a-la bootcamp, no, that will probably never happen.
Most likely, yes.
My biggest problem with WoA is the licensing, I can't use it for work until that gets "fixed".
The question you have to ask yourself is if you NEED the features that come with the new OS? Newer OSes typically do nothing for older hardware. They aren't written with older hardware in mind. So if you have a 2010 Mac Pro tower, Monterey isn't really a plus (assuming you can get it to run at all).
The only reason you have to migrate forward is when your hardware dies, like literally, or when the applications you use no longer support the platform you are on. Subscription based software falls into this category as it is forever updating to the latest OS versions. Box software typically does not get affected by OS updates because it's more static in that it was also written with older hardware in mind at the time. It's only the updated versions that perhaps require an updated OS or hardware.
The reality is, ANY new computer is likely to run circles around older ones. Same can be said for just about everything. But, does newer necessarily mean the old is no longer useful? No. Classic cars... ancient by today's standards... fuel hogs to say the least... kiss Mother Earth goodbye... but still beloved and running to this very day.
Funny thing is, new stuff tends to have a very short shelf life compared to the old... primarily because they are designed to be replaced. So for example, that 2010 Mac Pro tower is still going strong 11 years later and yet people replace their 2019 computers almost hourly by comparison.
So when I said "all in"... I meant, you buy an ARM Mac, you are an ARM Mac person going forward. It doesn't have a toe in the INTEL Mac world (Rosetta 2 will be removed and you won't have access to anything non-ARM as soon as Apple transitions their entire line to ARM). They did this with their transition from PPC to INTEL. ARM will do the same.
INTEL Macs were the only ones to actually allow you to run Windows on a Mac... natively. A pretty big feature if you ask me because a lot of people have to do stuff with Windows software in their daily business whether they want to or not. These new Macs don't offer that. It's more, you're a Mac zealot, so you don't need Windows anymore. For some, that may be true, but for others, not so much.
The decision is ultimately yours to make... just make sure it's your decision and not someone else's.
The only reason you have to migrate forward is when your hardware dies, like literally, or when the applications you use no longer support the platform you are on. Subscription based software falls into this category as it is forever updating to the latest OS versions. Box software typically does not get affected by OS updates because it's more static in that it was also written with older hardware in mind at the time. It's only the updated versions that perhaps require an updated OS or hardware.
The reality is, ANY new computer is likely to run circles around older ones. Same can be said for just about everything. But, does newer necessarily mean the old is no longer useful? No. Classic cars... ancient by today's standards... fuel hogs to say the least... kiss Mother Earth goodbye... but still beloved and running to this very day.
Funny thing is, new stuff tends to have a very short shelf life compared to the old... primarily because they are designed to be replaced. So for example, that 2010 Mac Pro tower is still going strong 11 years later and yet people replace their 2019 computers almost hourly by comparison.
So when I said "all in"... I meant, you buy an ARM Mac, you are an ARM Mac person going forward. It doesn't have a toe in the INTEL Mac world (Rosetta 2 will be removed and you won't have access to anything non-ARM as soon as Apple transitions their entire line to ARM). They did this with their transition from PPC to INTEL. ARM will do the same.
INTEL Macs were the only ones to actually allow you to run Windows on a Mac... natively. A pretty big feature if you ask me because a lot of people have to do stuff with Windows software in their daily business whether they want to or not. These new Macs don't offer that. It's more, you're a Mac zealot, so you don't need Windows anymore. For some, that may be true, but for others, not so much.
The decision is ultimately yours to make... just make sure it's your decision and not someone else's.
On my first iMac 27 I installed Bootcamp, but hardly used Windows on that computer. When I bought my iMac Pro which I still have I didn't even bother to install bootcamp. With my MBP 13 M1 computer I have no intention or no need to install Windows as all my applications are macOS. If I worked for a business that required Windows then I would simply buy or use the companies computer if they supplied one. To me it isn't worth the trouble especially on the M1.
I have installed the Windows 11 ARM Preview Edition VHXD as a VM on my base 14" MacBook Pro using Parallels 17 and it installed pretty painlessly. I installed Office 365 and connected to some corporate resources and it worked fine and seemed speedy enough compared to my 2020 iMac 5K i7 using Bootcamp and Windows 10.
I would expect the biggest issue would be emulating x86 Windows code, but I imagine Microsoft will improve that over time. My MBP is my personal machine and I have no need for Windows support (just wanted to see how and if it would work) so I likely will not keep it since I would need to buy a second Parallels license at $100 a year.