It completely blurs the lines between macOS and Windows, by hiding the Windows desktop and just showing you the Windows applications. That said, one of Parallels’ most useful features is Coherence mode, which is a bit of a mind-bender. There’s also a picture in picture mode, which keeps the virtual machine in a floating window on your Mac desktop. This makes life easier if you’re regularly switching between operating systems. You can make them full screen – perhaps on a separate desktop to help keep things straight in your head.

You can run these Windows/Linux operating systems in a window on your Mac. While you need to download Windows separately from Microsoft, there’s also the built-in option to automatically download and install the latest ARM versions of Linux. You can run 32-and-64-bit Intel apps on these versions of Windows, not just Windows ARM apps. Thankfully, you can access ARM versions of Windows for free by signing up for Microsoft’s Insider Preview program. Along with a few flavours of Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian and Kail. This limits you to the ARM versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The most noticeable difference is that, when running on an M1 processor, Parallels Desktop for Mac 17 only supports operating systems designed for ARM processors. Even so, they offer slightly different features. It’s a universal binary download, so the single installer works on both types of Mac. Parallels Desktop for Mac 17 runs on both M1 and Intel Macs. With the demise of Boot Camp for M1-powered machines, which use ARM architecture, Mac users who need access to Windows will rely on Parallels more than ever. This runs Windows on the actual hardware rather than on an emulator. The benefit of Boot Camp is the ability to boot an Intel Mac into Windows. You can read other GadgetGuy Parallels news and reviews hereĪpple’s move away from Intel chips in favour of Apple Silicon M1 chips, such as in the latest Apple MacBook Air (M1 2020), means that new Macs will no longer support Boot Camp. Review: Parallels Desktop for Mac 17 Australian website It’s also ready to make the most of a M1 power plant under the bonnet of a new Mac.

Parallels Desktop for Mac 17 supports the upcoming macOS Monterey, both letting you run Parallels on Monterey and run Monterey on Parallels. You still need to supply your own copy of the other operating systems. Keep in mind that Parallels is just a hardware emulator. In fact, it’s actually running as an application on your Mac. This lets you trick Windows, Linux or even another copy of macOS into thinking it’s running on a standalone computer. Parallels’ virtualisation software mimics hardware.

M1 macbook parallels