14 DAY TRIAL // Apple announced the M1 chip in November, and the first devices using it are already available for purchase, with developers now working around the clock to bring their apps to the platform.
Parallels is one of the companies whose software is quite highly anticipated on Apple Silicon, as it would technically make it possible to run Windows 10 on devices equipped with an M1 chip.
And a few days ago, the company officially released an early version of Parallels 16 for M1 Macs through the company’s Technical Preview Program.
“If you are interested in exploring the Technical Preview Program, click the button below, register or sign into a Parallels account, and be among the first to try it,” the company explains on the page of the preview build.
Windows on M1 chips
Microsoft already has a Windows 10 for ARM operating system, and it’s also installed on a series of devices available out there, and with Parallels customers would technically be able to use it on an M1 chip.
As part of Windows 10 officially on Apple Silicon, the Cupertino-based tech giant says it’s up to Microsoft to decide if it wants this to be possible or not.
“That's really up to Microsoft,” Craig Federighi, SVP of Software Engineering, said. “We have the core technologies for them to do that, to run their ARM version of Windows, which in turn of course supports x86 user mode applications. But that's a decision Microsoft has to make, to bring to license that technology for users to run on these Macs. But the Macs are certainly very capable of it.”
Windows 10 has already been installed on Apple Silicon with third-party tweaks, but for now, Parallels remains the most straightforward way to bring Microsoft’s operating system to M1 chips.