Being able to install Windows on a Mac is a reality in most of the existing models, since it is an option that Apple itself allows with the well-known Boot Camp assistant. However, this does not work on Macs with an M1 processor, since Microsoft‘s operating system is not yet openly optimized for the ARM architecture that has this type of chip. Now, there are alternatives with virtual machines and precisely one of them seems to be giving better results than expected.
Parallels boasts of its performance in the M1
This is one of the best known software in the virtual machine scene, since they offer different tools with which to offer solutions to professionals who use Mac and need some specific Windows functionality to work (also in reverse). It has existed for years, but the arrival of the M1 chip had made this program no longer compatible with all Macs, thus accelerating the development and optimization of this software to the new architecture. Well, the wait is over and Parallels Desktop 16.5 with M1 support has been released.
We had been seeing different beta versions of this virtual machine in the M1 for several weeks and the truth is that practically from the first day a lot of fluidity has been noticed, having a final version that exceeds all expectations. According to the developers themselves, this version works 30 times faster than in previous versions , highlighting even greater fluidity than in Intel chips that a priori are more prepared to handle the Microsoft operating system even in virtualization.
Microsoft still does not take a step forward
Despite being one of the pioneering companies in the sector with its operating system and other tools, it seems that Microsoft is resting on its laurels in this regard. And worst of all, this nap could be part of the strategy of the company, who do not offer their main operating system for ARM processors openly, although there are some exceptions by which the company sells these ISOs to OEMs .
When the first Macs with chips of this type were launched last year, some Apple executives once again showed that the ball was on Microsoft’s court by stating that for their part there are no disadvantages in continuing to provide tools that allow you to install your operating system on a partition. In fact, it is curious to see how the Boot Camp assistant continues to be installed as standard in the M1, having its respective app in the application drawer, although when it is opened it shows an alert message that it does not work on those computers.
We will therefore have to see what happens in the future, but the truth is that chips with this type of architecture are more than proving that they must be the future, so it could be a problem for Microsoft to be too late with it. . In any case, solutions like Parallels’s are now available to anyone who has a Mac M1 and needs those tools that are exclusively offered on Windows.