Microsoft has finally gone on record about whether it will support Windows on Arm (WOA) on Apple’s M1 Macs. And it’s not good news.

The software giant told The Register that running the ARM version of Windows 11 on M1-based Macs is not “a supported scenario,” ending speculation that Parallels Desktop customers would be able to purchase and install Windows 11 legally on those systems. To date, Parallels has supported ARM-based versions of Windows 10 and 11 only through the Windows Insider Program, which doesn’t provide any product support and requires regular upgrading.

Further troubling, it appears that the most recent Windows Insider builds of Windows 11 have started triggering hardware errors in Parallels on M1 Macs. Parallels has released a software update to address that problem, but it’s not yet clear whether it was a glitch or a purposeful move on Microsoft’s part to prevent Windows 11 from working on M1 Macs.

What’s interesting about this is that I spoke to a source in late July who told me that they expected Microsoft to announce that it would formally support WOA on M1 Macs in September. So I had been waiting to see a confirmation of that tip.

Tagged with Apple M1, Parallels Desktop, Parallels Desktop 17