Parallels Desktop has been officially authorized by Microsoft to run ARM versions of Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise on Macs with M3 processors.
Parallels Desktop brings ARM Windows 11 to Mac
ARM versions of Windows 11 were already authorized by Microsoft to run on Parallels Desktop for M1 and M2 Macs in 2023. However, Apple revealed the M3 processor family in October and that authorization needed to be updated.
According to an updated support document from Microsoft, all three M-series generations are now authorized to run ARM versions of Windows 11 Pro and Enterprise via Parallels Desktop 18 and 19. To be clear, this isn't the full version of x86 Windows that run on Intel PCs, nor is this version able to run 32-bit ARM applications.
While the $99.99 Standard Edition can manage four virtual CPUs and 8GB of vRAM, the Pro and Business versions go up to 32 vCPUs and 128GB vRAM.
The $199.99 per year Pro Edition also includes a Visual Studio plug-in for remote debugging, virtual networking tools, automation elements, integrations with Docker and others, and premium phone support, among other factors.
For $149.99 per year, Business Edition includes the Pro Edition's features, allowing employees to download preconfigured versions of Windows to their Mac, per-user licensing, a centralized administration and management tool, and unified volume license keys for mass deployment.
Each piece of hardware and virtual machine will need its own unique Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise license.