Parallels emulates PC hardware, and you’re running an ARM version of Windows 11 within a virtualized instance. You’ll get pretty good graphics performance in Windows 11 running via Parallels, but there are some things to keep in mind.

This was a big deal, as it resulted in significantly improved graphics performance than before. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5mac on YouTube for more videos like this.īack when Parallels launched version 15 of its software, it brought forth support for Microsoft’s DirectX 11 API via Metal. In this step-by-step walkthrough, we’ll show you how easy it is to get Windows 11 running on your Mac and also discuss some of the potential caveats and configuration notes.

Parallels Desktop for Mac - optimized for Apple Silicon - emulates PC hardware, allowing users to deploy a Windows 11 virtual machine in just a few clicks.

And, fret not, most 64-bit Windows applications are compatible with this version of Windows 11.Are there Windows-exclusive apps that you need to run but don’t have access to a dedicated Windows machine? If you’re still using an Intel-based Mac, Boot Camp remains a popular option, but if you’ve transitioned to Apple Silicon Macs, Boot Camp, a native method for running Windows on a Mac, is no longer an option.įortunately, Microsoft has put considerable effort into developing Windows 11 for ARM architecture, which Apple uses for its M-series chips in today’s Macs. With this approach, Windows 11 will use the hardware resources of the Mac to run applications without the need to reboot the computer. This means that we can run Windows 11 on our M-series Macs, while still enjoying the features of macOS. To run Windows 11 on M-series Macs, we will use virtualization software, which allows us to create a virtual machine that simulates a different hardware environment for the guest operating system. However, Microsoft has recognized the importance of the ARM architecture and is developing an ARM version of Windows 11 that is currently available as an 'Insider Preview' (beta). Windows 11 is designed to run on x86-64 architecture and requires specific drivers and software that are not compatible with ARM-based processors. This is because M1 and M2 Apple Macs use a different processor architecture (ARM) than traditional Intel-based processors. Before we begin, it is worth pointing out that we can't natively install Windows 11 on M-series Macs like we can on Intel-based Apple computers.

Windows 11 on mac m1