Windows 11 macOS compatibility efforts are underway, says Parallels

By Robert Carnevale
published

Windows 11's reach is infinite.

Windows 11 Logo
Windows 11 Logo (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Certain Mac users want Windows 11.
  • Parallels is going to give it to them.
  • Parallels' timeline for Windows 11 Mac compatibility has not yet been disclosed.

Microsoft's latest OS, Windows 11, has been on the minds of Windows enthusiasts since its leaked appearance on the web and June 24 official reveal. But some Mac users have been keeping an eye on the operating system as well, waiting for news of when, if ever, their device of choice would receive Windows 11 compatibility. Parallels' answer to them is straightforward: Windows 11 is coming to Mac, though there are no hard dates yet.

Nick Dobrovolskiy, Parallels' SVP of Engineering and Support, gave comments to our sister site iMore. "Since Windows 11 has just been announced recently, the Parallels Engineering team is waiting for the official Windows 11 Insider Preview build to start studying changes introduced in the new OS to deliver full compatibility in future Parallels Desktop updates," he said, assuring Mac users that it's only a matter of time before Windows 11 finds its home on Microsoft's rival's systems.

With Boot Camp going the way of the dinosaur soon, Parallels' willingness to bring Windows to Mac isn't just a kindness for certain users; it's a need. However, that need won't be answered immediately, as Parallels did not give an estimate on the time it will take for Windows 11 compatibility to materialize. It seems everything boils down to analyzing Preview builds and working with what's given.

Mac users aren't the only people waiting on Windows 11 compatibility, though. In a recent poll, we found that over 45% of our readers aren't equipped to handle the operating system in all its glory. A lot of this could boil down to the TPM issue that's rapidly becoming infamous and could garner enough attention to force Microsoft to change its requirements for Windows 11.

Robert Carnevale
Robert Carnevale

Robert Carnevale is the News Editor for Windows Central. He's a big fan of Kinect (it lives on in his heart), Sonic the Hedgehog, and the legendary intersection of those two titans, Sonic Free Riders. He is the author of Cold War 2395. Have a useful tip? Send it to robert.carnevale@futurenet.com.

9 Comments
  • still pissed that boot camp is going away. Don't own a mac anymore, but that's the kind of BS lock in that I don't like with my devices. Even Surface can run linux (for better or worse)
  • This on M1 Macs? They don't have Win 10 nailed down on Apple's ARM system yet do they?
  • Apparently they do. Hadn't kept up, since it wasn't all that important to me anymore.
  • That's an accomplishment for Microsoft to attract Mac users.
  • a Mac will probably meet the hardware requirements more than a Windows PC does!
  • That's an exceptional case, this time.
  • This will be Windows 11 on ARM, which isn't that desirable. People want the full Windows 11 experience with their applications and games, which non-intel Macs can not do without using Windows Cloud Desktop.
  • I’ve already got the windows 11 preview running on the current version of Parallels on an m1 MacBook Air. It doesn’t have TPM support yet which shows a warning but appears to work fine.
  • I also have Windows 11 ARM running in a Parallels VM on Apple silicon (M1 Mac Mini). With x64 emulation on the way, Windows for ARM needs to ramp up for a rapid increase in demand. Windows 11 ARM preview being available on day 1 suggests that Microsoft is thinking the same and may even telegraph how rapidly they want to advance their own internal ARM SOC initiatives.