The latest version of Parallels Desktop will support Windows 11 and macOS Monterey on Intel- and M1-based Macs. It’s available now, however, ahead of the final release of each.

“Our breakthrough of seamlessly running Windows 10 applications on Apple M1-based Mac computers was just the start of Parallels Desktop for Mac’s new chapter in offering enhanced user experiences running virtual machines on Mac devices,” Parallels senior vice president Nick Dobrovolskiy says. “Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac continues to deliver performance and stability improvements as well as innovative, easy-to-use features on Intel and Apple M1 Mac, offering users the most advanced Windows-on-Mac experience ever. In collaboration with Apple, we’re thrilled to have created the world’s first prototype of a macOS Monterey virtual machine running on a Mac with Apple M1 chip.”

More important, perhaps, to Windows fans, Parallels Desktop 17 will also officially support Windows 11 and, with that support, 64-bit Windows apps, a key advance for the platform. You can learn more about running Windows 11 on a Mac using Parallels Desktop 17 here.

Other key advancements in this release include dramatic performance improvements—for example, up to 38 percent faster resume with Windows virtual machines (VMs) and up to 28 percent faster DirectX 11 performance—an enhanced Windows gaming experience driver, integration between Windows client and Mac host power status, the ability to drag and drop content between Windows and Mac apps, and some Coherence improvements, including windowed (as opposed to full screen) update and shutdown screens. (Over 80 percent of Parallels Desktop users use Coherence mode to run Windows apps side-by-side with Mac apps on the Mac desktop.)

I’m away for the next few weeks, but I’ll be looking at Parallels Desktop 17 on an M1-based Mac when I return. For now, you can learn more about this new version from the Parallels website.

Tagged with Parallels, Parallels Desktop 17