Parallels has rolled out version 17 of its virtual machine, now fully compatible with macOS Monterey
The popular way to run various operating systems inside macOS, the Parallels Desktop virtualization environment, was released in version 17. The main innovations: improved gaming capabilities of Windows, running beta versions of macOS Monterey in a virtual machine on Apple Silicon, and a TPM virtual chip for Windows 11.
Built with macOS Monterey and Windows 11 in mind
Software doesn't stand still, and neither do operating systems. macOS Monterey and Windows 11 are pretty soon, and Parallels 17 is ready for them as both a host and guest system. If you need to start testing macOS Monterey for work, but you're not yet ready to fully run it, Parallels 17 will let you run it in a virtual machine today. Parallels has worked closely with Apple to optimize macOS Monterey.
Improved Performance
Parallels 17 demonstrates notable performance improvements. OS reboots are now 38% faster, and OpenGL is six times faster. On Apple Silicon Mac computers, Windows 10 boot time, disk performance, and DirectX11 performance have increased by more than 20%.
New Apple Silicon Features in Parallels 17
Windows 10 recognizes the battery status of macOS and turns on Battery Saving Mode when your Mac is running low. The new virtual TPM chip in Parallels 17 enables Windows 10 and Windows 11 to use BitLocker and Secure Boot for better data protection.
Automatic Resource Manager
One of the challenges when working with virtual machines is deciding how much macOS hardware resources to allocate for them. Parallels 17 includes an automatic resource manager that allows you to estimate the optimal amount of hardware resources for each of your virtual machines and make recommendations accordingly.
Drag and Drop Content between Mac and Windows
One of the most impressive features of Parallels 17 is the ability to transfer any text or images between Mac and Windows applications, including between Windows and MacOS Monterey Quick Note applications.
These are just some of the key features of the latest version of Parallels. Other updates include better control of disk space and more recognizable USB drive names. The Mac Pro edition includes a new Visual Studio Plugin, as well as additional options for deploying Parallels in a managed macOS environment.
If you use virtualization to access Windows apps, test betas, or play Windows games on your Mac, you won't need the update.
Parallels 17 is free to download and use for a limited time. Upgrades from the previous version start at $49.99 and new licenses start at $99.99. Subscription licenses start at $79.99.
