Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac comes with Windows 11 support, new M1 features, and more

Today, Corel announced Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac, the latest version of its virtualization software. The platform has gained recognition since last year when Apple started transitioning its Macs over to ARM processors, as it means that you can no longer use Boot Camp to run Windows natively on a Mac. Indeed, your only solution is to use virtualization software like Parallels.

“Our breakthrough of seamlessly running Windows 10 applications on Apple M1-based Mac computers was just the start of Parallels Desktop for Mac’s new chapter in offering enhanced user experiences running virtual machines on Mac devices,” said Nick Dobrovolskiy, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Support at Parallels. “Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac continues to deliver performance and stability improvements as well as innovative, easy-to-use features on Intel and Apple M1 Mac, offering users the most advanced Windows-on-Mac experience ever. In collaboration with Apple, we’re thrilled to have created the world’s first prototype of a macOS Monterey virtual machine running on a Mac with Apple M1 chip.”

A key new feature is support for both Windows 11 and macOS 12 Monterey. That means that you can easily create a virtual machine of either of those, and it’s officially supported. Official support is key here, since it probably worked before, even if it was buggier.

That’s not all though, because Parallels Desktop 17 is better and faster. Corel says that the product is 38% faster to resume when running Windows, Linux, and macOS, and OpenGL is up to six times faster. When running Windows, 2D graphics are up to 25% faster.

And then there are improvements that are specific to the kind of silicon that’s in your Mac. Windows 10 is 33% faster to start on an Apple Silicon Mac, and disk performance is up to 20% faster. DirectX 11 performance is an incredible 28% faster, meaning that you can actually play some Windows-only games on your Mac. That’s a big deal, because now, Windows can run 64-bit apps in emulation. Add the emulation to the Apple M1’s power and the DirectX improvement, and you can have a bit more fun with your MacBook. For Macs with Intel processors, Corel said that network connections are up to 60% faster.

There’s also a new display driver that’s going to improve gaming on Windows, on top of the DirectX improvements. You should get better frame rates in 2D games like Foregone and Smelter.

There’s still more. Coherence Mode is improved. This is a feature that lets you run Windows apps in windows alongside Mac apps. That’s right; you never have to actually see Windows to use Windows apps. That’s pretty representative of what Parallels is about, since it provides integrations with the OS. On top of that, you can now seamlessly drag and drop content between Windows and macOS.

Pricing for Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac is $49.99 to upgrade from a perpetual license and $99.99 for a new perpetual license. A new subscription is $79.99 per year. Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition is $49.99 per year to upgrade from an existing edition and $99.99 per year for a new subscription. Finally, Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition is $99.99 per year.