Parallels Desktop 17 brings Windows 11 to Mac with enhanced M1 support

Posted:
in macOS edited August 2021
PC virtualization software firm Parallels is back with its latest release in Parallels Desktop 17, delivering support for Windows 11 and Apple's macOS Monterey on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs.

Parallels Desktop 17


New for Parallels Desktop 17 is native performance on both Intel and M1 machines, meaning users benefit from a host of speed improvements while running Windows 10 and Windows 11 Preview.

On both Intel and M1 setups, Parallels resumes Windows and Linux up to 38% faster, provides an up to 25% bump in 2D graphics and a sixfold increase in OpenGL graphics processing. M1-centric stats include 33% faster Windows start-up times, up to 28% faster DirectX 11 performance and up to 20% better disk performance on Windows 10 Insider Preview.

It should be noted that Parallels is calculating M1 attributes on Windows preview builds. Like the most recent Parallels Desktop build, virtual machines are restricted to ARM-based operating systems, which translates to ARM previews of Windows 10 and 11. Parallels says its software will provide full support for Windows 11 when the operating system launches, according to Engadget.

Intel Macs, on the other hand, get the usual support for Windows builds going back to Windows XP and Windows 2000, as well as compatibility with Mac operating systems going back to OS X Lion. Linux support is also robust on x86 machines, while Parallels on M1 is limited to four distributions including Ubuntu and Fedora.

Parallels Desktop 17 delivers a set of fresh features including a new video driver that enhances video and game playback, and boosts Windows UI responsiveness. An improved Coherence mode lets users run Windows apps within the Mac environment, cutting down on distracting changes in appearance during Windows sign in, shut down, and software updates. Drag-and-drop operations are also improved, with support for text and graphics between Mac and Windows applications. This function works well with macOS Monterey's Quick Note feature, which can accept content from any Windows app.

USB support, disk management, copy and paste unformatted text and automatic virtual machine optimization also receive upgrades.

Parallels Desktop 17 is sold as a subscription. The standard edition costs $79.99 per year, while Pro and Business Editions are available for $99.99 per year. Those who purchased a perpetual license for a previous version of Parallels Desktop can upgrade to Parallels Desktop 17 for 49.99.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 44
    $80 a year for Windows is to much!
    dysamoriatwokatmewdarkvaderapplguy
  • Reply 2 of 44
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    And there’s the fatal flaw: subscription.

    The discussion of whether ARM Windows versions are or aren’t available to end users (and what they run) doesn’t even matter.
    StrangeDaysrcfamarcotor949dewmeapplguy
  • Reply 3 of 44
    PezaPeza Posts: 198member
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.
    edited August 2021 StrangeDaystwokatmewdarkvaderdysamoria
  • Reply 4 of 44
    tmaytmay Posts: 6,311member
    Full support for Windows 11 is market speak for "will require purchase / subscription to Windows 11, on top of Parallels subscription". 

    This is going to get ugly.
    rcfadysamoriawatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 44
    For some it will still be better value than Apple Music. It just depends what you need and how much you will use it. Using it for one thing once a year might make it a bargain for some businesses for example. 
    mike1
  • Reply 6 of 44
    I use Parallels to play and run Windows for fun and to keep a rudimentary knowledge about it, om my MacBook Pro. Plus I play with Ubuntu. Getting Windows was cheap because I purchased a license for Windows 7 on EBay, for 5 dollars, all perfectly legal, and then could upgrade to Windows 10. Ubuntu was free of charge. 

    I expect to upgrade to Windows 11 in the same manner. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 44
    fahlmanfahlman Posts: 740member
    $80 a year for Windows is to [sic] much!
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.
    I agree. Good thing it only costs $49.99 to renew annually.
    edited August 2021 watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 44
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    edited August 2021 darkvaderapplguy
  • Reply 9 of 44
    jimh2jimh2 Posts: 611member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    Just buy a PC and move on.
    ravnorodomtwokatmewaderutterharry wildwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 44
    Many if us in the business world (e.g. engineering where a few essential apps like Soidworks or Altium are the standard) will pay whatever it takes. While 95% of my apps are macOS (including the app we develop and sell to our customers), some industries are locked into a standard. I'd LOVE a real-world macOS native alternative for Solidworks (including  macOS native Solidworks!), but given reality of the world, this hopefully will be palatable. 
    GeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 44
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    fahlman said:
    $80 a year for Windows is to [sic] much!
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.
    I agree. Good thing it only costs $49.99 to renew annually.
    I’m using a version of Fusion that is years old. Why on earth would I want to pay them 50 bucks every year for software I already purchased? Renting software is a scam for many/most consumers, who simply don’t need the latest and greatest every single month or year. 
    OctoMonkeyGeorgeBMacapplguymuthuk_vanalingamdysamoriawatto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 44
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,844member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.
    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.
    I feel bad for him. I can’t imagine what sort of school district is under the misguided idea that they need Windows software in order to educate. 
    aderutterwatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 44
    tundraboytundraboy Posts: 1,884member
    Last I checked Fusion for Intel Macs is now free for consumers.  Maybe Parallels is better but better enough to beat Free?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 44
    The article needs a correction! All users are NOT by subscription. The standard version IS not.

    aderutterroundaboutnowdysamoriawatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 44
    tobiantobian Posts: 148member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    Edu apps might run okay under wine environment. It would be pretty sad to surrender the most comfortable OS - macOS, due to some primitive win32 exes.
    dysamoriawatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 44
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,989member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    Sure, sure. The most valuable company in the world is based entirely on millions of people "doing stupid stuff" and buying computers that they want but don't need.

    Look, if you'd actually read the article, you'd have noticed that Windows is booked to finally catch up and run on ARM processors soon. We get that you went and bought the wrong thing for your grandson and are struggling to come to grips with the embarrassment. You don't need to keep coming here to tell us how it's Apple's fault for not making the thing that you think you should have bought instead. Next time, do better research first and buy whatever gear is required by the kid's school. That's how you "don't do stupid stuff."
    p-dogaderutterwatto_cobraDetnator
  • Reply 17 of 44
    rcfarcfa Posts: 1,124member
    Without x86 emulation, this is going to be useless on M-series Macs.

    Windows emulation is essentially barely necessary anymore these days, plenty of native apps on the Mac.

    But the access to legacy operating systems and apps, to access old documents and data sets, THAT is key. Can’t run old windows software, NeXTstep, old versions of MacOS, etc. without CPU emulation,

    Remains to hope that QEMU picks up the slack…
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 44
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    jimh2 said:
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    Just buy a PC and move on.

    He's happy with with his x86 MacBook -- because it does what he wants and needs it to do.

    But, did you have anything intelligent to contribute?  Or were you just trolling on by?
  • Reply 19 of 44
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.
    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.
    I feel bad for him. I can’t imagine what sort of school district is under the misguided idea that they need Windows software in order to educate. 

    That would be most of them.   The prepackaged stuff is pretty much all written for Windows.  While it might run on MacOS, it may or may not be reliable on that platform.   And, a teacher isn't going to give a kid an extension because his Mac wouldn't let him complete his assignment.

    Plus, the school techs are mostly Windows guys. 
    dysamoriaIreneW
  • Reply 20 of 44
    GeorgeBMacGeorgeBMac Posts: 11,421member
    AppleZulu said:
    Peza said:
    It was going so well, till they mentioned it’s a subscription service fee! No way is this worth paying 80 dollars or pounds EVERY year for! They’ve seriously miscalculated their market with that.

    My grandson is returning to school soon and, without Windows, his MacBook would be essentially an expensive paperweight.

    While it's ridiculous that he would have to pay for something that has, historically, been standard (Bootcamp), it would nevertheless be necessary -- IF HE BOUGHT AN M1 MACBOOK.  But that's a very big IF.  He would not only have to pay an exorbitant rental fee but then be dependent on the whims and fortunes of some private company he never heard of?  I've always stressed to him "Don't do stupid stuff."

    Right now, fortunately, his x86 MacBook is running both MacOS and Windows OS very well.  But, if and when it dies, it is unlikely he would buy another MacBook. 
    That would be 'doing stupid stuff'.

    It's great that Parallels is out there.   But it's really just a life preserver for those who made a mistake buying an M1 Mac when they also had a need to run Windows -- say to run a school or work application designed for Windows (which most are).

    There are few who need to run MacOS.   For most it's a "want" not a "need".   But there are millions who need to run Windows  -- at least part of the time.
    Sure, sure. The most valuable company in the world is based entirely on millions of people "doing stupid stuff" and buying computers that they want but don't need.

    Look, if you'd actually read the article, you'd have noticed that Windows is booked to finally catch up and run on ARM processors soon. We get that you went and bought the wrong thing for your grandson and are struggling to come to grips with the embarrassment. You don't need to keep coming here to tell us how it's Apple's fault for not making the thing that you think you should have bought instead. Next time, do better research first and buy whatever gear is required by the kid's school. That's how you "don't do stupid stuff."

    Bought the wrong thing?
    LOL...  Nice attempt at a troll -- but no.   Not at all.

    He asked for a MacBook and, before i bought it for him, knowing he would likely need Windows for school work I made sure that I could get it to run both if and when he needed Windows.   As it turned out, he did.  So, I upgraded it to also run Windows and now, with Bootcamp, he can do whichever he needs and/or prefers as it runs both MacOS and Windows.

    So, he (and his mom) love his MacBook.   But, as I said, without Windows, it would be mostly an expensive paper weight.
    edited August 2021 dysamoria
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