When using Windows on Macs with an Apple chip, question marks remain: The use of the special ARM version of Windows 11 on Apple’s new M1 Macs is ‘not a supported scenario’, says a Microsoft spokesman for The Register quoted. Further details and an independent confirmation of the statement by Microsoft are not yet available.
Apple points to Microsoft
Windows 10 and Windows 11 on ARM can currently only be used as virtual machines via the Parallels Desktop virtualizer on ARM Macs. There are also efforts by independent developers to virtualize Windows on ARM via QEMU on Macs with an Apple chip.
Boot Camp – for direct installation of Windows on Macs – is not offered by Apple for the new devices with in-house chips. The M1 Macs are “undoubtedly very capable” of running “Windows on ARM” natively, Apple’s software boss announced at the end of last year, but such support is “in Microsoft’s hands”.
Compatibility issues with Windows 11 in Parallels
Parallels recently adapted the virtualization environment of the same name for Windows 11 and macOS 12 Monterey. Last week, a new build of Windows 11 on ARM suddenly caused a virtual machine in Parallels Desktop 17 to display a hardware compatibility error, how The Register reported – that already caused uncertainty. Parallels counteracted this with an update to version 17.0.1, which eliminates the problem, but has not yet commented on what caused the error.
Windows on ARM has not yet been freely available to end customers in stores; the download – also for virtualization with Parallels – must be made via Microsoft’s Windows Insider Program. The prerequisite is that a license for a version of Windows has already been purchased.
(lbe)
