Microsoft has partnered with Parallels to enable Windows 11 to run in a virtual environment, and as a result, the operating system is now officially supported on Apple’s M1 and M2 Macs. According to a new Microsoft support document released today, Parallels Desktop version 18 is “an authorized solution” for running Arm versions of Windows 11 on Apple’s latest M1 and M2 Macs.
News is taken from The Verge.
Microsoft is officially supporting Windows 11 on Apple M1 and M2 Macs. A new partnership with Parallels will allow Mac users to officially install Windows 11 as a VM. Details here: https://t.co/q7Ecz0PeLF
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) February 16, 2023
Microsoft is happy for Apple M1 and M2 users to use the OS in a virtual machine even if businesses have restrictions on which processors are supported to run Windows 11 natively. Performance won’t be as good as it could be with a native solution, but Apple hasn’t indicated whether it will support Boot Camp on M1 or M2 Macs.
But, Microsoft’s intention to officially grant parallel approval to support this method of running Windows 11 on Apple’s recent Macs is more than we’ve seen so far. Since Microsoft has until now licensed the Windows version of Arm directly to OEMs, M1, and M2 users have found it difficult to run it officially in a VM.
The Parallels Desktop 16.5 release introduced support for Windows on M1 CPUs, however, the latest version enables one-click installation of Windows 11. With a virtual TPM in conjunction with Apple Silicon, Parallels is also managing the complexities of Windows 11’s TPM and secure boot requirements.
Although technically possible, it was previously not allowed to use a Windows 10 license key to activate the Arm version. For Windows Enterprise users who have mixed the Windows – OS versions, this has been a significant issue to be addressed.
Yet the licensing issue, in this case, is still not entirely clear. Businesses can purchase a Windows 11 license “through their normal Windows procurement process,” while private consumers can buy a $199 Windows 11 Pro license directly from Microsoft, according to Parallels. However, it’s unclear how Microsoft has changed its licensing policies in this regard, so we’ve asked Software for more information.
Microsoft is now offering Windows 365 Cloud PC as an additional option for those who want to access Windows 11 on an M1 or M2 Mac. These are virtual machines with full application compatibility that are hosted in the cloud. There are different restrictions on the types of hardware, games, and apps that are supported by the Arm version of Windows 11 used by Parallels Desktop 18.
Hardware drivers must be built specifically for Windows 11 Arm-based computers to work. Also, if a game relies on anti-cheat drivers or OpenGL 3.3 or higher, it won’t run. Many other applications will not work properly, such as cloud storage apps and assistive technologies, as well as those that try to integrate with Windows Shell. Similarly, some third-party antivirus programs cannot be configured.
Most apps should work normally because Windows on Arm now supports x64 app emulation. However, you should generally use the genuine Microsoft Edge browser as cloned applications such as Google Chrome often do not work well.