Parallels Desktop 16.5 runs Windows 10 at Native Speeds on Apple M1 Chips

As promised Parallels has released the highly anticipated Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac, which features full native support for Mac computers equipped with either Apple M1 or Intel chips.

The virtualization software lets you run Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview and its applications on Apple M1 Mac computers and also delivers M1 support for the most popular ARM-based Linux distributions.

“Apple’s M1 chip is a significant breakthrough for Mac users,” said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Parallels Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support. “The transition has been smooth for most Mac applications, thanks to Rosetta technology. However, virtual machines are an exception and thus Parallels engineers implemented native virtualization support for the Mac with M1 chip. This enables our users to enjoy the best Windows-on-Mac experience available.”

Parallels also benefit from the amazing power of the M1 chipset.  It offers up to 60 percent better DirectX 11 performance than on an Intel-based MacBook Pro with Radeon Pro 555X GPU.

Parallels says running a virtual machine (VM) of Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview on Parallels Desktop 16.5 on an M1 Mac performs up to 30 percent better than a Windows 10 VM running on Intel-based MacBook Pro with Intel Core i9 processor.

“We received enthusiastic feedback about the remarkable performance of both the Technical Preview of Parallels Desktop 16 for M1 Mac and Windows 10 on ARM Insider Preview as well as x86 applications and games, including Rocket League, Among Us, Roblox, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sam & Max Save the World and many others. Testers loved Parallels Desktop’s easy-to-use features and seamless integration of Windows with macOS Big Sur, which increased productivity,” said Dobrovolskiy.

Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac costs $99.99 for a perpetual license. Read all the detail at Parallels here.