VMWare Fusion 12 update for macOS Big Sur has free personal tier
VMWare on Thursday announced Fusion 12, the next major update to its virtualization software with support for macOS Big Sur and a host of other changes.
Credit: VMWare
The virtualization software maker originally announced a "tech preview" of its platform in June, and suggested that a future version of its app could be compatible with ARM-based chips. Among other changes, macOS Big Sur lays the groundwork for a switch to Apple Silicon.
Fusion 12 doesn't add support for Apple Silicon chips yet, but the update phases out VMWare's use of kernel extensions by using new Apple APIs to support its containers and virtual machines. VMWare Fusion 12 will continue to use extensions on macOS Catalina, but will use the hypervisor and other APIs on macOS Big Sur -- allowing support for the operating support as both guest and host machines. Apple is also currently in the midst of phasing out kernel extensions.
Additionally, Fusion 12 introduces compatibility with eGPUs, support for DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1, and support for Kubernetes containers. There are also improvements in sandbox security and accessibility controls, among other changes.
The company is also changing how it charges for VMWare Fusion, opening up the base tier version of Fusion 12 to make it free for personal use. A commercial license now costs $149, or $89 as an upgrade from Fusion 10 or 11. Fusion 12 Pro will cost $199 for a new license, or $99 as an upgrade.
VMWare hasn't announced a firm release date for Fusion 12, but said that the update will debut later in 2020.
Credit: VMWare
The virtualization software maker originally announced a "tech preview" of its platform in June, and suggested that a future version of its app could be compatible with ARM-based chips. Among other changes, macOS Big Sur lays the groundwork for a switch to Apple Silicon.
Fusion 12 doesn't add support for Apple Silicon chips yet, but the update phases out VMWare's use of kernel extensions by using new Apple APIs to support its containers and virtual machines. VMWare Fusion 12 will continue to use extensions on macOS Catalina, but will use the hypervisor and other APIs on macOS Big Sur -- allowing support for the operating support as both guest and host machines. Apple is also currently in the midst of phasing out kernel extensions.
Additionally, Fusion 12 introduces compatibility with eGPUs, support for DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1, and support for Kubernetes containers. There are also improvements in sandbox security and accessibility controls, among other changes.
The company is also changing how it charges for VMWare Fusion, opening up the base tier version of Fusion 12 to make it free for personal use. A commercial license now costs $149, or $89 as an upgrade from Fusion 10 or 11. Fusion 12 Pro will cost $199 for a new license, or $99 as an upgrade.
VMWare hasn't announced a firm release date for Fusion 12, but said that the update will debut later in 2020.
Comments
I went big for my last x86 IMac for this reason. Waiting for my 10-core i9 128GB, 8TB IMac to arrive soon!
I said it before on a different article; I think MS and Apple have been working behind the scenes for a while to ensure ARM based bootcamp will be a viable thing.
I think that Fusion may follow the same path. VMWare Fusion has been offered both as a paid base version with no limitations on running multiple VMs at the same time, but also in a "Pro" version that has more features and bindings into other VMWare products. It sounds like there will be a "Player" version of Fusion and a continuation of the "Pro" version. I cannot determine whether the 'Player" version will be limited to running a single VM at a time. We'll see. If VMware dumbs down the base version so they give it away for free then some existing customers will have to upgrade to the "Pro" version to keep the features they rely upon intact. Sure, they'll now a have a goody bag of new features, some of which they may not need, or at least were not willing to pay for in past versions. It's not a big deal I guess. For (non commercial) users who are able to live with the limitations of the free version, it's a nice present.
If nothing else, VMWare Fusion allows you to create VMs of macOS workstations which can be very handy if you have some legacy software applications, e.g., 32-bit only, that will not run on the latest macOS version. I've been using VMWare on both Windows and Mac for as long as these products have been on the market. For the past several years almost all software development in the organization I've been part of has been done almost exclusively on VMWare virtual machines. It's much easier to keep a tight reign on the entire software stack, including specific OS versions, apps, and drivers, when you can containerize everything into a virtual machine. VMs are a godsend for testing your apps on multiple client and server versions. I cannot imagine developing software without using virtual machines for code development, and I'm not even talking about the vast number of VMs in the build and automated testing server clusters/clouds.
On the customer side, some software development organizations (one's I've been a part of) have teamed up with VMWare to deploy entire application suites via virtual machines. There is no app installation, everything is preinstalled on a VM. Some industries, especially regulated ones, life sciences, and process control systems have extremely tight configuration management requirements and/or run the same basic software stack for 10-25 years with no significant changes. If you support these systems you may have to build and test changes on 20 year old operating systems using 20 year old build tools. The notion of "breaking changes" in an app due to a language, compiler, API, or OS change (like no longer supporting 32-bit apps) is not an option in some industries. Shipping the app in its own dedicated VM is one option (not the only one) that can be used to work around these issues, especially if the app is part of a highly distributed and connected architecture.