Microsoft adds support for Windows 11 on Macs with Apple processors

Microsoft has finally given an official way to run Windows 11 on a Mac with ARM processors, although not without crutches. In the new article On the support site, the company "authorized" the use of Parallels Desktop 18 to run ARM versions of Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise on Macs with M1 and M2 processors.

At the same time, users are waiting for several restrictions. So, running 32-bit is impossible, since Microsoft removes support for 32-bit software for all Windows builds for ARM. To use external devices, you will need drivers for the ARM version of Windows.

Also, it will not work to use programs that give the user a virtual environment (because Windows in Parallels is already a virtual environment). This means that running Android applications, the Linux subsystem, or Windows Sandbox will not work. If you were suddenly going to use such a bundle for games, it’s also not so simple here: applications with DirectX 12 or OpenGL 3.3 will not start with the minimum system requirements.

It’s important to note here that, technically, it has been possible to run Windows through Parallels on a Mac with an M1 since 2021 – and that’s even worked well. The only problem was that only test builds of Windows Insider could be installed. Now we are talking about full-fledged stable versions of the system.

It's not entirely clear exactly how Microsoft changed the licensing process. Until that time, the company supplied the ARM version of Windows exclusively to hardware manufacturers - then is, Asus and other brands that want to release computers with ARM processors and Windows "from boxes."

Of course, the new solution does not provide the same stability and performance as full-fledged Windows, running in Boot Camp and not through a virtual environment, but it doesn't look like Microsoft will allow that option in soon.