Parallels 16.5 Can Virtualize ARM Windows Natively on M1 Macs With Up to 30% Faster Performance

Parallels today announced the release of Parallels Desktop 16.5 for Mac with full support for M1 Macs, allowing for the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview and ARM-based Linux distributions to be run in a virtual machine at native speeds on M1 Macs. From a report: Parallels says running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine natively on an M1 Mac results in up to 30 percent better performance compared to a 2019 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics. Parallels also indicates that on an M1 Mac, Parallels Desktop 16.5 uses 2.5x less energy than on the latest Intel-based MacBook Air. Microsoft does not yet offer a retail version of ARM-based Windows, with the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview available on Microsoft's website for Windows Insider program members. The ability to run macOS Big Sur in a virtual machine is a feature that Parallels hopes to add support for in Parallels Desktop later this year as well.

Slogan: VM Inside.

[Ostracus]

Now all we need is an M1 in a server form.

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[dfghjk]

No we don't. M1's aren't for servers and would fail in that "form". What "we" need is an ARM Mac without a 16GB memory limitation.

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[Sir Holo]

What "we" need is an ARM Mac without a 16GB memory limitation.

Seriously. If I'm running apps on an M1 Mac, and need to run some Windows apps too, then I am going to be running out of RAM. Lots of disk-swapping would go on, wearing down my SS HD.

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[Dukenukemx]

Just replace the SSD when it wears out.

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[Joe_Dragon]

No IMPI
RAID 0 as the only storage choice with apple markup
Need an apple laptop to join an replacement storage blade
Low base ram with insane markup

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[laird]

The M1 is an awesome processor that would indeed make a nice server, though I suspect most server software wouldn't use the GPU cores. That being said, there are some very nice-looking ARM servers out. Ampere has an 80-core server, for example https://amperecomputing.com/al... [amperecomputing.com] which is engineered to be a great server, with 128 lanes of PCIe per socket, very fast RAM channels, NVME storage, etc. And the world's fastest supercomputer is ARM-based https://www.arm.com/blogs/blue... [arm.com] . You can do a lot with 158,9

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[theshowmecanuck]

Oh, and to not be able to repair or upgrade your machine.

Re: Go One Better

[Cmdln Daco]

To be fair, you can choose a Windows computer that will be unrepairable, too, if you wish.

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[Ostracus]

Already been tried. [notebookcheck.net]

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[Rhipf]

It also seems that it is mainly the higher end laptops that have things soldiered in place. You would think that it would be the cheaper models that would be less upgradeable.

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[Rhipf]

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that all high-end laptops have soldiered items just that for those laptops with soldiered items it seems that the majority of them fall into the higher end of the price spectrum.

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[Lord Apathy]

I can attest to this. I have two windows based computers here on my desk that are pretty much can't be upgraded or repaired. One is a low end laptop is glued shut that opening it would destroy the internal workings.

The other is a intel NUC. All the components are perm. attached to the mother board but memory and the m.2 module. It maxes out at 16 GB just like the M1 Macs do.

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[FictionPimp]

So pretty much every modern laptop, gaming device, and cell phone?

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[fred6666]

You can still repair many non-Apple laptops (replace SSD, RAM, WiFi at least). I even replaced the LCD panel on one laptop by using one from another laptop I had. It was a different model and brand but same size so I thought I'd give it a try and it did work fine.

Cell phones are a pain to repair, yes. Thanks to Apple for "leading" the way.
I'd rather have one with visible screws (would be hidden behind a case anyways, so nobody should care) that is repairable. At least change the battery.

I do not own any gam

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[ArchieBunker]

I had my iPhone 6 screen replaced by a guy at a mall kiosk. Don't know what you're going on about.

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[exomondo]

Yes that was a generalization that doesn't cover every case but what he's "going on about" is that if the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, camera (in a phone), breaks then you have replace the whole lot because they aren't individually repairable like they have been typically in the past. And yes, there are some exceptions.

Of course the miniaturization means that if you're talking about throwing away other components when one of them dies the e-waste problem is very different comparing an SoC to a traditional compon

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[AmazingRuss]

A PC/Windows box that will be worthless in 2 years.

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[dfghjk]

As will M1 Macs. Already on sale.

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[Rhipf]

If you are only getting 2 years out of your Windows PC you must be buying really shitty computers.
Any name brand computer should last the average user at least 5+ years.
If you build your own out of good parts you can probably get 10+ years of use out of it.

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[swilver]

All hardware depreciates fast, and only a fool would spend 3 or 4 times as much on hardware to start slightly higher on that curve.

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[xwin]

What a load of crap. I am using Dell laptop which is close to 4 years old and still under warranty. It has better screen than any Mac laptop, 32GB of RAM, removable SSD, easy replaceable battery. It could be a bit heavier than a MacBook but that never was a problem for me. I use this machine for most of my work and it works perfectly for quite heavy workloads. It does not work well for looking cool in the coffee shop, but it was purchased to be a working machine not a status symbol. So windows machines can

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[fermion]

I just appreciate not having to carry two machines. Also that the Mac is very fast running MS Windows, even graphic intensive programs. I also appreciated I did not need a mouse because the track pad was very precise.

Re: Go One Better

[Holi]

Really, what windows software do you use that works on Windows for ARM?

Re: Go One Better

[mstockman]

Almost all Windows software runs in Windows ARM because it includes Intel emulation.

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[theshowmecanuck]

Once again Apple fanboy moderators are upset. You can feel better by spending up to two or three times or more what Americans make in a month before taxes on your shiny Macs so you can better write documents and surf the web.

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[darkain]

While this were true back in the Intel era for Apple, their M1 line starts sub-$1000. The price argument isn't valid anymore with this current generation. Yes, there are cheaper PCs if you're only specing RAM/Storage, but when you factor in compute, screen quality, keyboard/touchpad quality, and audio quality, a comparable PC laptop is actually more expensive now. It just comes down to if you care more about storage or multimedia depending on your workloads.

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[swilver]

Source: you

Three years ago I could already get a sub $1000 laptops with a 4k screen, 6 cores, M2 SSD, a free RAM and SSD slot, with probably twice as many total ports (2x display port, hdmi, multiple types of USB connectors, and lots of them), a better keyboard (but that's easy) and good audio quality (for a laptop that is, for all other purposes, total shit).

Apple doesn't somehow have some kind of monopoly on decent hardware. No doubt they also use the cheapest shit that will hold together just long enoug

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[laird]

In fact, Apple's reliability is quite good, based on real-world repair rates. https://www.prnewswire.com/new... [prnewswire.com] . Interesting, the newer MS-branded hardware (surface, etc.) is also highly reliable, with but the top manufacturers (Microsoft, Lenovo, Apple) are _way_ ahead of Samsung, HP, Dell, Asus, and Acer, which have double their failure rates or worse. In fact, Apple is notable for using more expensive, higher-quality components, making them more expensive to purchase but with lower repair rates and cost

How useful is Windows for ARM?

[jellomizer]

For practical terms, you are going to need to emulate to get Intel x64 Windows to work. ARM Version of Windows, it all the Problem with Windows, without any of the backwards compatibility and smaller software library.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[dfghjk]

And is not available. And for which x64 is not supported except in another pre-release form. And which does not successfully run Windows ARM apps within the Mac VM.

Seriously, this is just a troll for Superkendall, jcr and the rest of the Apple goon squad.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[jellomizer]

Microsoft biggest screw-up was in the Implementation of .NET
Because they wanted it to be Windows Only platform, they locked it down where it became CPU specific for a lot of modules, just so it could get a performance benchmark speed to beat Java.

This decision to WIN over Java, did little to help with the future of Microsoft. .NET could had been a tool to help transition from 32bit to 64bit (but you needed to recompile to get 64 bit, and many of those libraries failed to run), Moving to different CPU you ge

About

[ArchieBunker]

as useful as the NT builds for Alpha, PPC, and MIPS were.

Uses 2.5x less energy

[FuzzMaster]

I find this metric confusing, but I assume it means the Intel version uses 2.5x the energy. So, wouldn't it be clearer to write something like "uses 40% of the energy" or "uses 60% less energy"? Or are these multipliers necessary marketing jargon these days?

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[UnknownSoldier]

Yup, blame marketing. 2.5x is more impressive sounding then 60% less energy.

I guess providing the raw energy units (Watts?) is too much work. (pardon the pun)

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[algaeman]

It actually consumes no energy, and delivers an amount equal to 1.5x the energy of an intel macbook through the included electrodes. Apple makes no judgements about where you attach them.

Power of x86's Monopoly

[xack]

Even in the Mac and Linux world x86 and Windows compatbility rears its ugly head. We need tools like Parallels (or UTM/Qemu) to bridge the gap. The fact that Microsoft and Intel/AMD conspire together is why we have had over 40 years worth of x86 computer monopoly. Microsoft coudn't escape it (remember the architechtures that NT 4 supported), and neither can Intel (the failure of the Itanium). M1 may be technically superior in some aspects, but compatibility wins in the long run. I can even see the day Apple

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[93 Escort Wagon]

Right now, Codeweavers’ Crossover (Wine) appears to be the only existing solution. It works very well... except where it doesn’t work at all.

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[Sir Holo]

I can even see the day Apple transitions back to x86 happening, which happened with Xbox.

Or Parallels implementing an x86 emulation layer.

. . . Possibly even to allow running of 32/64-bit Universal apps (meaning it would have to be able to emulate Mojave 10.14 or lower).

I don't want to lose all of my scientific computing software! That stuff isn't updated like commercial apps are.

The CPU seems to be at a cross-road

[diffract]

The ARM-based M1 surely disrupted the CPU market. I have no idea what this means for the future of x86 windows/linux PCs. If Microsoft or some other manufacturer is able to produce an M1 equivalent for the PC (which is a matter of time because the incentive is there), what will happen to intel and AMD? Are we gonna live in a fragmented PC world? At least with Apple you know where things are headed because there is only one chip provider. But we're gonna be in a mess in the next few years if PC-ARM CPUs beco

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[algaeman]

90-95% of users could get by with a $10 cpu of the sort that is in set-top boxes (eg Amlogic S905X3) or even phones (Snapdragon 8xx). A power user that does a lot of gaming or video processing will want a discrete video card. IO intensive systems will need a bunch of PCIe lines. Very few people are taxing their cpu these days.

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[fluffernutter]

Unless I'm on a battery I don't really care about it. Unless every single x86 application is guaranteed to work on ARM.

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[MikShapi]

We are at an inflection point, for sure.
So far, it's been a simple choice. Power-budgeted? ARM. Performance? x86 (with some exceptions).
We just got to a point where ARM & x86 desktop performance are on-par, where ARM is carried by two trends:
1. The performance improvement of x86 is ~30% year on year. ARM is a few hundred percentage points.
2. The power consumption of a properly designed ARM system is between a quarter and a full order of magnitude lower for the same performance.

Apple is going ARM native

What is 30% better compared to what exactly?

[K. S. Kyosuke]

Is it running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine natively on an M1 Mac compared to running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine on a 2019 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics? That seems to be the most likely interpretation.

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[NicholFD]

Is it running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine natively on an M1 Mac compared to running a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine on a 2019 model 15-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and Radeon Pro Vega 20 graphics? That seems to be the most likely interpretation.

That can't be the correct interpretation - you cannot run a Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview virtual machine on any Intel X86 processor.

I know the writing is worded poorly, but it probably means vs. running a Windows 10 INTEL Insider Preview virtual machine on an Intel MacBook Pro. And I believe this. Windows VMs on a MacBook Pro hammer the CPU, cause the fans to spin up & generally consume a LOT of resources (I run one daily).

Unsurprising

[Mark of the North]

The two year-old MacBook has two knocks against it: 1) It is two years old; and 2) It has to virtualize the ARM instruction set. The M1 has a much easier task, since it is hosting a guest OS with the same instruction set.

Other than developers doing cross-platform work, mostly targeted at ARM, this is a fairly useless performance metric.

Great

[Holi]

So helpful since not one piece of Windows software I need to use runs on Windows for ARM.

how to run old VMs now?

[davecotter]

I know parallels is in it for Virtualization and not Emulation, but... but.. but... I now have 2 decades worth of x86 VMs that are... what, useless on an M1 mac?
I wish for Parallels and Apple to work together to get Rosetta "uplifted" enough that it can (somehow?) function as the back end emulator for all these old VMs? I know i know, "that's not how that works". Okay fine, so I wish Parallels or some third party would create a true emulation environment for all my old Parallels VMs. Sigh. We can't keep ki

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[Wolfrider]

--OMG, first world problems... M1 is the new generation for things to move forward, just have a separate PC like the rest of the world to run your old VMs on. smdh

Wow

[scourfish]

ARM virtualization is faster on an ARM machine than on an Intel? Who could have predicted this?

"Up to"

[Solandri]

Oh how I hate that weasel phrase. You can have a product which is 10x worse in every way but one, and if it's 30% better in that sole exception, you can advertise your worse product as being "up to" 30% better.

Any number after the phrase "up to" tells you nothing about overall performance. It's an empty phrase invented by marketers to exaggerate things while being subtle enough that you might not realize it's being exaggerated. I'm naturally suspicious any time it's used. If you want to impress me, (trut