Now You Can Run Windows 11 Officially On Apple ARM Macs

Microsoft and the German software manufacturer Parallels make it possible: The ARM version of Windows 11 can now be used on ARM-based Macs. If you want, you can use the operating system on devices with Apple M1 or M2.

As Microsoft announced by publishing a support article, Parallels Desktop 18 can be used as an “authorized solution” to run Windows 11 on devices with Apple M1 or M2 processors. Microsoft makes this possible by adjusting its license terms, which previously did not allow the virtualization of Windows 11 on ARM-based Macs.

Of course, the usual limitations in terms of performance remain, as Windows 11 with Parallels Desktop 18 is still not native on Apple devices running on the ARM platform, but in a virtual machine. For the time being, this remains the best possible official approach, because enabling Windows natively on M1 or M2-based Macs would require significantly more effort due to the necessary adjustments on the part of Microsoft.

Microsoft drops licensing hurdles

So far, Microsoft has only licensed the ARM version of Windows 11 to PC manufacturers. With this hurdle removed, Parallels Desktop 18 can now officially be used to run Windows 11 on ARM on Mac systems with M1 or M2. Devices with the Apple M1 SoC have already been supported so far, but some effort was always required to use them.

With Parallels Desktop 18 it should now be possible to download and install Windows 11 with one click. Parallels also take care of Windows 11’s TPM and Secure Boot requirements by providing a virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) for use on the Apple chips.

Customers must purchase the ARM variant of Windows 11 Pro from Microsoft

All the details of the licensing have not yet been clarified, so Parallels only says that corporate customers can obtain the licenses for Windows 11 in the ARM version through their normal purchasing channels. Private customers can obtain the necessary license for Windows 11 Pro at the original price from Microsoft.