Parallels 16 for M1 Macs Now Available Through Technical Preview Program

Parallels today began informing customers about the launch of a new Parallels Desktop 16 for M1 Mac Technical Preview Program, which is available today. The software cannot run an Intel x86-based OS, and requires an Arm-based operating system installation image.

Microsoft is offering a version of Arm-based Windows that's available through the Windows Insider program that will run on ‌M1‌ Macs through Parallels, but there is no publicly available version of of Arm Windows that can be purchased.

Those who have signed up for the Technical Preview Program are able to be the first to test Parallels for ‌M1‌ Macs. There are several limitations that users should be aware of.

- It is not possible to install or start an Intel x86 based operating system in a virtual machine.
- It is not possible to suspend and resume a virtual machine, including reverting to a "running state" snapshot.
- It is not possible to use the close button when a virtual machine is running; Shutdown virtual machine instead.
- ARM32 applications do not work in a virtual machine.

The current versions of Parallels are not able to run on ‌M1‌ Macs, but Parallels in November following the launch of the new Macs said that a version of Parallels compatible with Apple's chips was in active development.

At the time, Parallels said that the software designed for Macs was looking "very promising."

When Apple Silicon Mac was first announced during the keynote at WWDC on June 22 of this year, Apple demoed a Parallels Desktop for Mac prototype running a Linux virtual machine flawlessly on ‌Apple Silicon‌. Since WWDC, our new version of Parallels Desktop which runs on Mac with Apple ‌M1‌ chip has made tremendous progress. We switched Parallels Desktop to universal binary and optimized its virtualization code; and the version that we are eager to try on these new MacBook Air, Mac mini and MacBook Pro 13″ looks very promising. Parallels is also amazed by the news from Microsoft about adding support of x64 applications in Windows on ARM.

Parallels Desktop 16 was first released in August for Intel-based Macs, but has since been updated with a universal binary that's now ready for ‌M1‌ Macs. Parallels is available for a one-time fee of $99.99, but the Pro and Business editions require a $79.99 per year subscription.