The developer says 25 years of work was needed to bring Parallels to Big Sur, but will not comment on whether Windows will support Apple Silicon.
Parallels is the virtualization app that allows users to run alternative operating systems alongside Apple’s macOS, and in practice that means typically Windows. Now that Apple has confirmed that Boot Camp will not continue under Apple Silicon, the question has been whether Parallels will be how Windows users can continue using Macs.
During a video card with AppleInsider, the developers acknowledged the question but still declined to comment specifically. Instead, they pointed out that Apple had demonstrated the use of its Parallels product during the discovery of Apple Silicon and macOS Big Sur.
That demonstration showed Parallels running Linux on macOS Big Sur on an Apple Silicon machine. It did not show Windows, but the developers of Parallels have now revealed that they have put unusual effort into working on Apple Silicon.
The company says that Parallels working with macOS Big Sur required the equivalent of 25 person-years of effort. While Apple Silicon may be one unstated reason for that workload, it was Apple’s reworking of core features that needed customization.
In parallel, it provided the only example of kernel extensions, a way that has so far given virtualization software improved performance. These third-party “kexts” are no longer supported at all in Big Sur, and Parallels said it was adapted to Apple’s own kexts that required all the effort.
For users, what this means first is that Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac is ready for macOS Big Sur. Then the benefits of the new version and the new macOS that Parallels estimates means it can run more Windows apps.
Some Windows apps would rather fail because they required hardware that Parallels could not imitate. Many of these will work now, with Parallels saying its new version can run more than 200,000 Windows apps.
Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac also claims that these apps run faster than before, with Windows launching twice as fast, and restarting or shutting down up to 20% faster. It also improves on the previously important issue that virtual windows could request additional disk space, but then not return it when it’s shut down.
Parallels Desktop 16 is available in three different editions, starting with a standard version, which is a one-time purchase of $ 99.99. Pro and Business Editions are available on subscription, both for $ 99.99 per year. Upgrade prices are also available.
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