Parallels confirms Apple M1 support amid silence from other virtualization companies


Parallels is actively working on a new version of its virtualization software that will be compatible with Apple Silicon and M1 machines, the company said on Tuesday.

The company said it is “excited to see the performance, power efficiency, and virtualization features” that Apple’s new M1 chip brings to the Mac and MacBook lineups. But it noted that current versions of Parallels Desktop won’t be compatible on the new devices.

A new version compatible with Apple Silicon was shown off at WWDC 2020, and Parallels said that the app has made “tremendous progress” since then. The company has switched Parallels Desktop to a universal binary, and has optimized its virtualization code.”

No other major virtualization company has similar announcements about compatibility with Apple Silicon. Back in June, VMWare announced a macOS Big Sur-compatible “tech preview” of its software, but remains vague about how it will support Apple-designed chips.

Virtualization, along with Rosetta 2, is one of several initiatives that Apple says will make the switch to Apple Silicon smoother for developers and consumers. Boot Camp, long a way for users to run Windows on Mac hardware, will not make the transition.



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