You’ll be able to run the recently revealed Windows 11 on your Mac. Eventually. Parallels is working on adding support for Microsoft’s next operating system to its macOS app, Parallels Desktop.
It’s going to be a while, though. All that’s available from Microsoft now is a Windows 11 Insider Preview, and there’s not even an official release date for the full OS.
Still, the announcement started Parallels investigating adding support to its Mac app. The company is not ready to say anything about a timetable, but it told iMore, “we will surely do everything that’s possible to make it happen.”
Get ready for Windows 11 on Mac
Microsoft took the wraps off the replacement for Windows 10 in late June. It includes a redesigned Start menu and a centered Task Bar. Microsoft Teams is built in, as is Xbox Game Pass. But perhaps the highlight is its ability to run Android applications.
Adding to Parallels’ challenge of bringing Windows 11 to the Mac is that Apple is in the midst of moving from Intel processors to ARM-based M-series chips. A Mac running the M1 processor can’t run the version of Windows compiled for an Intel chip, even with Parallels’ help.
But Microsoft is going through its own processor shift, making versions of Windows for Intel and ARM processors. And Parallels Desktop already supports the Windows 10 ARM Insider Preview on M1-based Macs. A version of Windows 11 for ARM is definitely in development.
