Parallels Desktop 19 add Touch ID support and other improvements

Parallels releases Parallels Desktop 19 bringing Touch ID support for password-less login. This versions also adds support for upcoming macOS 14 Sonoma.

Other improvement include:

  • Improved OpenGL support, up to version 4.1, for running more CAD software on Mac, including VariCAD, Deswik.CAD, Vectorworks Vision 2023, and more.
  • Improved performance for AcrGIS Pro, a map designing application. 
  • Compatible to run CentOS 9 Stream on Mac computers with Apple silicon, along with an updated set of ready-to-go Linux distributions, including Ubuntu 22.04.2, Fedora 38, Debian 12, and more. 
  • New option to create Arm-based Linux VM on Mac computers with Apple silicon using Rosetta to run x86-64 binaries, including containers. 
  • Enhanced support for the HashiCorp’s Packer and Vagrant with macOS VM on Apple silicon. 
  • New option to create, group, and manage Parallels VMs and their containers from the Visual Studio Code extension. 
  • Support for enrolling Windows in Windows management solutions, such as Microsoft Intune and others, when deploying it using Parallels My Account Configuration Profile or as a shared file.

Parallels: Parallels Desktop 19 for Mac

Reference: Parallels Desktop 19 Adds Password-Less Sign-In With Touch ID Support, macOS Sonoma Compatibility, and More

Microsoft announces support for ARM virtualization for Windows

Microsoft announces support for running Windows on Apple Silicon Macs with Parallels software.

Some limitations still apply – Microsoft does not support running Windows Subsystem for Android, Windows Subsystem for Linux, Windows Sandbox and Virtualization-based Security when Windows 11 is running in virtualized environment.

Microsoft Support: Options for using Windows 11 with Mac® computers with Apple® M1® and M2™ chips

Alludo: Parallels Desktop Now an Authorized Solution to Use With Windows 11 on Mac With Apple Silicon

Reference: Microsoft announces full support for virtualization of Windows on ARM through Parallels Desktop 18

VMWare Fusion 13 now provides Apple Silicon support

VMWare adds support for Apple Silicon. Now Windows 11 could be a guest OS on Apple Silicon Macs.

On Apple Silicon, we’ve introduced our first round of features for Windows 11 on Arm. In this release VMware Tools provides virtual graphics and networking, and more is still to come. With certified and signed drivers Windows 11 looks fantastic, and adjust the resolution to 4K and beyond!  
Note that Fusion on Apple Silicon must run the Arm variant of Windows 11, and it does not support the x86/Intel version of Windows. 

VMWare Fusion Blog

VMWare Fusion Blog: VMware Fusion 13: Now available for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs

Reference: VMware Fusion 13 Now Available With Native Support for Apple Silicon Macs

VirtualBox now supports Apple Silicon

VirtualBox 7.0 brings support for Apple Silicon Macs. VirtualBox is an open-source virtualization software available for various platforms. Now it could be used on Macs with Apple Silicon.

Download: Download VirtualBox

Release notes: VirtualBox 7.0.0 (released 2022-10-10)

Reference: Oracle VirtualBox brings Apple Silicon Mac support in version 7.0 beta

Microsoft says ARM Windows will not be supported on Apple Silicon Macs

Microsoft made a comment on the future of ARM Windows on Apple Silicon Macs both on running natively and virtualized.

We asked Microsoft whether running Windows 11 on an M1 Mac in Parallels is supported, and were told it's an unsupported scenario. Running the OS directly on the hardware isn't supported, either.

The Register

Parallels though still provides hints on how to run Windows on M1 Macs.