Parallels Desktop 19
Run Windows, Linux and macOS on a Mac
Setting the size of a macOS VM on Apple silicon requires the Pro edition
When it switched from near-universal Intel processors to its own chips, Apple knew that some would still need to run other operating systems on their new Macs, and provided for this in macOS. Parallels Desktop version 19 is the latest in this long line of virtualisation apps that build on that support to run Windows, Linux and macOS inside a window on both Mac architectures.
Support for different virtual machines (VMs) remains more limited on Apple silicon Macs. Intel models can run Windows 10 and 11, almost any version of Linux and other Unixbased operating systems, Android, and whatever versions of macOS are supported by the host Mac. Apple silicon models are restricted to Windows for ARM 11 Pro and Enterprise, half a dozen ARM Linux distros, and macOS from Monterey onwards.
Parallels 19 brings a few general improvements, including support for Linux up to kernel version 6.5. Windows VMs can use
Touch ID to log in, there’s support for OpenGL 4.1, and printing from Windows has also been improved. However, if you want to run Windows older than 10, or host any VM on macOS 11 or older, you’ll need to run Parallels 18 or earlier, which is included in the current licence.
Windows for ARM is already built to run on the processor cores in Apple silicon chips, and is well-supported by Parallels and authorised by Microsoft. Linux and macOS virtualisation depend more heavily on support built into macOS, which also enables you to run Intel
apps inside a VM, using Rosetta 2, but not a whole Intel operating system. To enable Linux guests running on Apple silicon to be able to translate and run Intel code, there’s additional configuration required in the VM. Parallels helpfully provides pre-configured Ubuntu VMs to make this easier, but you’ll need Desktop Pro edition to be able to do that.
Not so slick on Silicon
While Windows and Linux both get comprehensive settings and controls for use on Apple silicon, Parallels still doesn’t provide similar accessible controls for macOS. VMs created to run macOS in the Parallels app can only use its default settings, with four virtual CPU cores and 8GB virtual memory, and a fixed virtual disk size of 60GB.
Changing those defaults either requires the use of the command tool prlctl, for which you’ll need the Pro edition, or editing the config.pvs file inside the VM bundle with a text editor. It’s even harder to set the disk size, which requires the Pro edition for that same command tool to run a four-step installation process in Terminal, in a surprisingly bad piece of design. Once that size is set, it can’t be changed, but that’s a limitation imposed by macOS not Parallels.
Network options include both basic NAT and more flexible Bridged options, with the latter supporting rule-based port forwarding when used with Sonoma hosts and guests, but again that’s only available in the Pro edition. If both the host and guest are running Sonoma 14.1 or later, you can use the new suspend/ resume feature to close a VM without shutting it down. But when you reopen that VM, its window annoyingly reverts to its default.
Parallels first added support for virtualising macOS on Apple silicon over two years ago. It’s shocking that version 19 still lacks any of the basic controls provided more conveniently in several free virtualisation apps, and makes it so hard to create a VM of non-standard size. This casts doubt on Parallels’ long-term commitment to supporting macOS on Apple’s new Macs, and spoils what would otherwise be an excellent all-rounder, whether you use Intel or Apple silicon Macs. Howard Oakley