Microsoft Officially Supports Windows Virtualization On Mac M1 And M2 – Review Geek

Thanks to a partnership between Alludo and Microsoft, Parallels Desktop 18 is now an “authorized” solution for users who want to run Windows 11 on an Apple Silicon Mac. Unfortunately, this is a sign that Apple may not be bringing Boot Camp to his M1 and M2 platforms.

Now, as you may know, Parallels already supported Windows 11 on Apple Silicon machines. We even published a review of this functionality. But Parallels was operating in a gray area: It took advantage of a Windows Insider loophole that bypassed the Windows authorization process.

Now, Microsoft is giving its blessing to Parallels. Now you can install Windows 11 on ARM through Parallels with just one click, and businesses can properly license the operating system to avoid legal issues.

This news also indicates that Microsoft is relaxing its licensing policy for Windows on ARM. Historically, the company only licenses Windows on ARM to OEMs. If this operating system becomes more accessible, it should encourage third-party software development, bridging the software compatibility gap between Windows on ARM and the traditional x86 flavor of Windows.

That being said, Windows on ARM has a lot of compatibility issues. It doesn’t support DirectX 12 or the latest versions of OpenGL, for example. But it can run ARM applications natively and offers a compatibility layer for traditional 32-bit and 64-bit x86 software.

Basically, you will just have problems playing the game (although some games will work fine). And for the best performance, you should stick to native Windows apps on ARM; for example, Microsoft Edge will perform better than Google Chrome on Windows on ARM.

The licensing situation here is still a bit confusing. Parallels users can buy a Windows 11 license through Microsoft (or another provider if you are a large company). But a license may not be required. And anyway, the Windows Insider loophole still exists.

If you’re interested in running Windows on your Apple Silicon Mac, check out our Parallels Desktop 18 review. This is some very impressive software, but it can be a bit pricey, and your favorite apps may not work properly in virtualization.

Source: Microsoft, Alludo