VMWare Fusion 12 debuts with macOS Big Sur support, more
Software virtualization firm VMWare on Tuesday released Fusion 12 with support for Apple's macOS Big Sur, eGPU compatibility, DirectX 11 app and game integration, performance improvements and more.
Teased in June ahead of an official announcement in August, VMWare Fusion 12 comes packed with the usual tools to get Windows, and a host of some 200 supported operating systems, up and running on Mac.
As a host, Mac can run Windows apps in the dock, access Apple's Metal graphics, support up to 8GB of virtual graphics memory, access BootCamp import and launch options, run virtual NVMe devices and deploy a desktop environment suitable for Kubernetes apps.
Performance maxes out at 32 vCPU and 128GB of RAM, while the aforementioned 8GB of VRAM help boost apps and services. VM operations and file transfer have been improved in Fusion 12. Users of Fusion 12 Pro can also connect to vSphere or ESXi hosts for remote workloads.
New to Fusion is the ability to run without kernel extensions, meaning the software is tapping into Apple's APIs for VM and container processing. This feature is limited to macOS Big Sur, however, with older versions of macOS retaining extension-based virtualization. The move is in part to future proof Fusion, as Apple is preparing to phase out kernel extensions altogether in upcoming macOS releases.
Security enhancements include a sandboxed vGPU rendering engine, support for Microsoft virtualization based security, a Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), secure boot options and, for Pro users, the ability to create and manage encrypted VMs.
VMWare has tweaked the price structure of its Fusion offerings and is marketing a free "Fusion Player" base tier for personal use. A commercial license costs $149, or $79 as an upgrade from Fusion 10 or 11.
The top-end Fusion 12 Pro incorporates additional features like virtual network customization, virtual network simulation, clone creation and encrypted VMs. Fusion 12 Pro comes in at $199 or as a $99 upgrade.
Teased in June ahead of an official announcement in August, VMWare Fusion 12 comes packed with the usual tools to get Windows, and a host of some 200 supported operating systems, up and running on Mac.
As a host, Mac can run Windows apps in the dock, access Apple's Metal graphics, support up to 8GB of virtual graphics memory, access BootCamp import and launch options, run virtual NVMe devices and deploy a desktop environment suitable for Kubernetes apps.
Performance maxes out at 32 vCPU and 128GB of RAM, while the aforementioned 8GB of VRAM help boost apps and services. VM operations and file transfer have been improved in Fusion 12. Users of Fusion 12 Pro can also connect to vSphere or ESXi hosts for remote workloads.
New to Fusion is the ability to run without kernel extensions, meaning the software is tapping into Apple's APIs for VM and container processing. This feature is limited to macOS Big Sur, however, with older versions of macOS retaining extension-based virtualization. The move is in part to future proof Fusion, as Apple is preparing to phase out kernel extensions altogether in upcoming macOS releases.
Security enhancements include a sandboxed vGPU rendering engine, support for Microsoft virtualization based security, a Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM), secure boot options and, for Pro users, the ability to create and manage encrypted VMs.
VMWare has tweaked the price structure of its Fusion offerings and is marketing a free "Fusion Player" base tier for personal use. A commercial license costs $149, or $79 as an upgrade from Fusion 10 or 11.
The top-end Fusion 12 Pro incorporates additional features like virtual network customization, virtual network simulation, clone creation and encrypted VMs. Fusion 12 Pro comes in at $199 or as a $99 upgrade.
Comments
I can’t use my Razer Core X with my MacBook Air Bootcamped into Windows, but if I could use it on the same machine in macOS with Windows in a VM then that’d be even better.
We'll see what we get with the VMWare free personal version but I am interested. That will have to hurt Parallels as the free VMWare version should be quite good for many home users.
However, for those looking, there is no link. You have to register first, even if like me you have an account for the paid version 11, you still have to create a new registration for the free version.
Start here: https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion.html The registration link for Fusion Player takes me to VMWare Horizon.
Logged onto to VMWare and it only shows the Pro version for download so it appears you have to register for the Player version even if you've been a Fusion user for years. Clicking on Fusion 12 takes you to the commercial version. They've really messed things up.
I gave up trying to get to whatever they were sending me to. Using my current account, they said I could register with that but it never actually took me to the Player app, only to some trial stuff.
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Using this website: https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html
--I chatted with Support and got a bit further then the download link, Manually Download, didn't do anything. The support person went to try it and it cancelled out session.
If you're already logged onto VMware, try https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/evalcenter?p=fusion-player-personaland see if this gets you there.
TIP rename a previous version if you want to keep it (just in case) so it isn't overwritten. Also with 12, you have to jump through the usual macOS SIP hoops.
It's kind of crazy that VMware made this whole process so damn convoluted, especially for current license holders. I've been paying for (nearly) yearly upgrades since the very first version of Fusion hit the market. I hate having to jump through hoops, or what appears more like a puzzle game or easter egg hunt to find the free version to download.
VMware seriously needs to hire a few qualified User Experience experts. They seem to be able to nail the technical details and low level complexity but their customer-facing web presence is retrograde at best. I suspect they'd rather have everything customer-facing done at the command prompt or in a Vim editor and only begrudgingly hired one or two people who kind-of knew what the acronym "UX" stands for.
When you say rename a previous version, are you talking about the the VMWare Fusion app, Virtual Machines folder or the VMs inside it? Thanks