Parallels now offers an update to its Parallels Desktop virtual machine software, allowing users to install Windows 10 on Macs using Apple's ARM-based M1 chip Parallels Desktop 165 for Mac enables Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview to run in a virtual machine at the native speed of M1 Macs

This is good news for Windows loyalists while Apple is transitioning from Intel x86 processors to its own ARM-based silicon, as seen in the latest M1-powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Boot Camp, a handy utility that allows users to install and run Windows directly on Apple's MacBooks, does not yet support the ARM architecture This is apparently due to licensing issues rather than technical limitations

So far, this has meant that M1-based MacBook users cannot use Windows on their machines

The latest version of Parallels Desktop for Mac now supports M1 Macs and allows them to run Linux and Windows 10 Insider Preview on ARM Some purists might argue that this is not the real thing, since it runs in a virtual machine and does not use an actual installation of Windows running on the CPU native, which Boot Camp accomplishes

That said, you can get as close to the real thing as you can without jumping from our best laptops to a Windows model

Parallels' results are promising: Corel, which owns Parallels Desktop, has reported significant performance and battery improvements

Corel's results show that the 165 update consumes up to 250% less power on an M1 Mac compared to a MacBook Air with an Intel chipset In addition, the ARM-based Windows 10 build on the M1 Mac showed an overall 30% improvement in virtual machine performance compared to the Windows 10 VM on the Intel-based MacBook Pro

Besides running Windows 10 faster, Parallels Desktop 16 has a number of other useful features One of them is Coherence Mode, a feature that allows Windows programs to run like native Mac applications on a MacBook; this would be very useful for users who are locked into Windows programs

For some users, it would serve as a stopgap measure if they are affected by the lack of Boot Camp on their M1 Mac before a new Mac comes with Boot Camp

Otherwise, most users will be happy with the speed offered and will be able to get great performance out of the ARM-based silicon for Windows 10

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