Microsoft has declared that it will formally support Windows 11 running on Apple devices with M1 and M2 processors. Users can run Windows 11 on a Mac in two different ways, according to a recent update on a support page shared by the tech giant.
The first method is through a cloud PC using the Windows 365 service, a solution made for businesses that grants you access to a machine on a per-user per-month basis. The alternative method for running Windows 11 on an Apple M1 or M2 Mac is through Parallels.
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According to Microsoft, Parallels Desktop version 18 is an approved way to run Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise on Apple M1 and M2 computers in a virtual environment.
Since Parallels users had no way to run Windows 11 on Apple machines, this is unquestionably a big step in the right direction. However, the ARM version of Windows has a number of restrictions that prevent users from using a wide range of apps, games, and anti-virus programs.
Additionally, it appears that programs like Windows Subsystem for Linux, Windows Sandbox, and Android Windows Subsystem are not supported because they require an additional layer of virtualization. According to Microsoft, games that use DirectX 12 or OpenGL 3.3 or higher won’t be supported either.
Although there are other virtualization programs that let you run Windows 11 on a Mac, only Parallels is officially supported by the tech behemoth. BootCamp only supports computers with Intel CPUs, so if you’re wondering why users don’t use it to run the most recent version of Windows on an Apple silicon-powered Mac, that’s why.
