With the “Coherence” mode, you can access Windows apps as if they’re installed on macOS itself and effortlessly drag and drop files across them and Mac apps - minus the constant back and forth between the VM and macOS. Windows 11 on a Mac (Image credit: Future) So if you own an entry-level Mac with only 8GB of RAM like me, you can utilize this to ensure running two operating systems doesn’t grind your machine to a halt. The most important tool is the ability to configure how much memory and CPU bandwidth is allocated to the virtual machine. On top of that, it offers a host of handy tools so that you can adjust the experience depending on your demands. Parallels automatically shares your macOS profile’s data with the VM, such as Wi-Fi and printer settings.

Once you’re inside the Windows 11 virtual machine, there’s little for you to set up.

Once you download Parallels on your Mac, its installation assistant will grab and load up the Windows 11 ISO file for you, and the M1 chip’s performance chops wrap up that process in about 30 minutes. Installing Windows on Parallels is no longer a multi-step process either. It supports all the new Windows 11 bells and whistles, except for Android games since Parallels can’t replicate the “hardware acceleration” option just yet. Plus, it can wake up from sleep in an instant in the same state you left it, including all the open apps. He couldn’t do that unless either he had the M1 version of Windows 10 or Parallels provided a virtual Intel machine, could he? And if SketchUp got far enough on Windows to complain about the graphics, that would imply that it started up but quit when it couldn’t find acceptable graphics, not that it couldn’t run because of inherent M1 incompatibility.Windows 11 on a Mac (Image credit: Parallels)Įverything from Windows 11’s refreshed animations to resource-intensive multitasking worked as Microsoft intended it to. So, correct info from someone who knows and has verified it on real hardware would be much appreciated.ĭoes Parallels M1 implement a virtual M1 machine? Does/could it run a virtual Intel machine? The original post says the OP had Windows 10 running on Parallels, but that SketchUp complained about the graphics. But I’m wondering about what sort and how many rocks are in the way of completing the transition to Parallels on M1. I admit I haven’t researched this and don’t have an M1 Mac to try it out. So this topic leaves me confused about what Parallels M1 provides. Anything running under Parallels is on a virtual machine, not directly on the native hardware.

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