Running VMs on M1 Processors

[37Shannon]

The announcement of the new M1 chips has me a little concerned about applications like VMware Fusion or Parallels that emulate a Windows OS in a virtual machine. I was under the impression this was possible because of the Intel chipset, but if Apple is switching to M1, what do you think will be the future of these VM apps? I run a W7 virtual machine on my MAC using Fusion, and it runs fine; although it's a little slow on W7 app loading, the speed is sufficient that I can play W7 games in that VM (like Railroad Tycoon II, which is graphics intensive).

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Not sure what will happen, but I would think that Parallels and VMware Fusion will find a way to adapt in a future version. If you think about it, those applications already do the hardware virtualization to run the guest OS versions now.

I am sure there will be a lot of discussion and announcements in the coming months as the M1 Macs become more prevalent in the wild.

C

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hi,

Found these:
-Parallels Desktop for Mac with Apple M1 chip
-VMware virtual machines on #AppleSilicon

C

 

[37Shannon]

Hi,

Found these:
-Parallels Desktop for Mac with Apple M1 chip
-VMware virtual machines on #AppleSilicon

C

You wrote "If you think about it, those applications already do the hardware virtualization ...".

True, but only because the Intel chipset supported it. Since Wintel machines used the Intel chipset before VMs became available for the MAC, it worked because the hardware virtualization was baked into the chip. But with an Apple-developed chip, this is unknown. Simulation may still be possible in software, but at, I would imagine, a considerable cost in performance.

I followed your links, but at best, all they reveal is that they're working on it. It'd be nice to see VMs on Macs continue.

 

[Jigs]

Ive been running the ARM version of Windows 10 on a mac mini M1 (using the Parallels Desktop beta) for several weeks here, and it's all good. BUT, the Arm version of Windows is also a beta, and I can't figure out how to fully activate it using my keys, but once that's sorted, it looks like smooth sailing to me. The interesting thing is that I find myself using Windows less now with the M1, as it's so fast now on the mac side for games and other graphic intensive things.. as buttery as things were running in virtual.