Third-party app developers are really stepping up to revise their apps for the new Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip. Every day I receive update notices or see news stories about these updates.
Some of the Mac apps I use every day have released updates. These include the Microsoft Office for Mac suite, ScreenFlow, VLC and many others. (If I tried to give you a full list of the apps that have been updated, it would be out of date by the time you read this. Lol.) Not sure if a particular Mac app has been updated for the new Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip? Check the sidebar below.
Truthfully, Parallels is no exception. The latest versions of Parallels® Access and Parallels® Toolbox, are universal binaries, meaning they contain the necessary code to run at full speed on either Mac with Intel processor or Mac with the Apple M1 chip. You probably already know that in December Parallels released a Technical Preview of Parallels® Desktop for the new Mac with Apple M1 chip. Already, tens of thousands of Parallels beta testers have started using this Technical Preview.
At the risk of revealing my age, I was a Mac user when Apple switched from Motorola processors to PowerPC, and when they switched again from PowerPC to Intel. The switch to Apple Silicon appears (at first blush) to be moving faster, and with developers getting their apps updated much more quickly.
Parallels now supports Apple M1 systems 1:08 pm April 15, 2021 By Julian Horsey Anyone who relies on Parallels Desktop and has been waiting for it to be released supporting the latest Apple M1 chip.
Parallels Desktop for Mac has been updated today to support Apple’s new M1-based Macs. You now have a reliable and quick way to run Windows 10 on an M1-based Mac — provided you're willing to make some tradeoffs. Parallels has released Desktop 16.5 for Mac with full support for M1.
If you have a Mac with the Apple M1 chip, please let us know in the comments about your experience in this transition.
How to tell if a Mac app has been updated for Mac with the Apple M1 chip
There are two easy ways to check if an app has been updated for Mac with the Apple M1 chip:
#1: Look at the app’s Get Info dialog
If you just want to check on a single app, this way is the best choice.
To open the app’s Get Info dialog, select the app, and then use Cmd-I, or choose the “Get Info” menu item on the right-click menu.
The “Kind” field will tell you whether the app is Universal or Intel.
See Figure 1.
#2: Look at the Mac System Report
If you want to check the status of all your apps, this way is a better choice.
To do so:
1. Choose the “About this Mac” option on the Apple menu.
2. Click on the “System Report” button.
3. Click on “Applications” in the “Software” entry in the left pane of the System Report window.
4. The “Kind” column will show you whether an app is Universal or Intel. Click on an individual app for more details.
See Figure 2.
Desktop Apple Computers
The M1 Mac’s inability to run Windows might seems like an obvious limitation, but it’s actually a major issue for a lot of Mac users. Boot Camp is gone so you can’t run Windows natively, which means you need to use a virtualization app. A few months ago, Parallels previewed its Parallels Desktop for Mac virtualization software on M1 Macs, and on Wednesday, the company annnounced that Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac—which brings full native support for both M1 and Intel Macs—is out of beta and now available to the general public.
Parallels Desktop Apple M1pr
If you want to run Windows on your M1 Mac, you can launch Parallels Desktop 16.5 to run the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview, the only version of Windows that can run on Apple silicon. To get the Insider Preview, you need to register for Microsoft’s Insider Program. Keep in mind that this is beta, so some features may not work, and it isn’t optimized for performance.
Parallels Desktop Apple M1 Download
Despite the lack of optimization on Microsoft’s part, Parallels claims that performance of Windows 10 ARM is 30 percent better on an M1 Mac than Windows on an Intel Core i9 MacBook Pro, and DirectX performance is 60 percent better compared to a MacBook Pro with a Radeon Pro 555X GPU. And the M1 Mac uses 2.5 less energy than a 2020 Intel MacBook Air, the company says.
The major features that were in the version 16 release are fully available on M1 Macs, including Coherence Mode, Mac keyboard layouts, Shared Profiles, Touch Bar controls, and more. Parallels says that it “hopes” to add the ability to run macOS Big Sur in a virtual machine later this year.
Parallels Desktop On Apple M1 Chip
Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac is $79.99 for a new subscription or $99.99 for a new perpetual license. An upgrade from Parallels Desktop 14 or 15 to a perpetual license is $49.99.