Sadly, it seemed as though people who wanted the best of both worlds had to wait.įortunately, they didn’t have to wait too long, as Parallels is ready with a version of its virtual desktop software, Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac, and it can now run Windows on the M1 Macs. It meant playing Windows-based games on a Mac was partially out, and if you had Windows software you had to run side-by-side was largely off limits, too. When Apple Silicon launched and began replacing the Intel hardware in Mac computers, the line didn’t quite play nicely with Windows, not like it had in the past. Whether it’s the compatibility of having both major operating systems under the one computer or even just getting it to play games, a Mac could handle Windows through either Bootcamp or emulation under software, but Apple’s M1 changed that. You don’t typically buy a Mac to run Windows, but up until last year, a Mac could run Windows for one of the reasons you might want to. Not everything plays nicely on Apple Silicon, but the gap is closing, complete with Microsoft’s Windows, thanks to the latest Parallels release.
