Parallels International has announced its new Parallels Desktop 17 software that supports the upcoming Apple macOS Monterey and Microsoft Windows 11 operating systems, making it possible to run Windows 11 on all kinds of Mac computers.
Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac virtualization software is compatible both with Apple Silicon and Intel Core-based Macs. The program is optimized for macOS Monterey and supports a variety of guest operating systems, including Windows 10, Windows 11, and Linux. Obviously, Parallels Desktop 17 VMs require Arm-supporting operating systems (OSes) when they work on Apple M1-powered machines.
In addition to support for new operating systems, the new version of Parallels Desktop also brings in up to 6x faster OpenGL graphics performance. It has a new display driver and enhanced Windows gaming experience, with up to 38% faster Windows, Linux, and macOS resume. It also has up to 25% faster 2D graphics in Windows. On Arm-based Macs the new virtualization software increases performance by up to 20%~33% in Windows 10 Arm Insider Preview, and by up to 28% in DirectX 11 graphics applications.
Furthermore, Parallels Desktop 17 also supports a host of additional features, such as seamless drag and drop transfers between Windows and macOS, improved coherence mode, and automatic resource management, just to name a few.
"Our breakthrough of seamlessly running Windows 10 applications on Apple M1-based Mac computers was just the start of Parallels Desktop for Mac's new chapter in offering enhanced user experiences running virtual machines on Mac devices," said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support at Parallels. "Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac continues to deliver performance and stability improvements as well as innovative, easy-to-use features on Intel and Apple M1 Mac, offering users the most advanced Windows-on-Mac experience ever. In collaboration with Apple, we’re thrilled to have created the world's first prototype of a macOS Monterey virtual machine running on a Mac with Apple M1 chip."
Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac costs $99.99 for a perpetual license (any edition) or $79.99 for an annual subscription.
