Parallels for Apple Silicon Macs Now Supports Windows 11 Pro

Thursday February 16, 2023 9:36 am PST by Juli Clover

Virtualization software Parallels for Mac now supports Windows 11 Pro on Apple silicon machines, as Microsoft is now officially allowing the app to use the Arm-based version of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise.

parallels software
Apple silicon Mac users can access the Windows 11 platform on their machines using Parallels, and as it is an authorized solution from Microsoft, IT administrators can install the Arm-based version of Windows 11 on employee Macs.

Parallels is well-known virtualization software that allows Windows apps and desktops to be used on Mac machines. Apple used to have its own Boot Camp solution, but Boot Camp is not available on Apple silicon Macs, leaving virtualization software as the only option for Mac owners who need to access Windows content.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is optimized for Apple silicon Macs that include the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, and Mac Studio. The standard version of Parallels Desktop for home use is priced at $100, with upgrade pricing available as well.

Top Rated Comments

playtech1

8 months ago

I'm guess Microsoft's exclusivity deal with Qualcomm for Windows on ARM has expired so now it can go 'official' with its support of Apple Silicon via Parallels.

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

RedTheReader

This is pretty nice, but until we see Boot Camp make a come back, modern Macs don’t have the same utility for a lot of people as the old Intel ones.

antibolo

This is a poorly written article that will create more confusion than anything.

Parallels on ARM has supported Windows for a while now. The difference now is that you can run a fully-licensed release build of Windows, rather than developer previews.

Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)

stiligFox

Let’s go! About time we got official support. Glad to see Microsoft has finally opened up.

Now a Mac Studio looks really, REALLY tempting for my needs…

ppetrovic

Wonderful. Apple - the ball is in your court now, can we finally have full support for nested virtualization on Apple Silicon? Pretty please?

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)