Microsoft supports Parallels Desktop for running Windows 11 Arm on Apple M1 and M2 Macs

If you really, really, want to install Windows 11 on a Mac, Microsoft is now giving you a couple of officially approved solutions. One is to use Parallels Desktop, and the other is to connect your Mac to Microsoft 365's Cloud PC feature with Windows 11.

The first official solution is specifically for the Arm-based versions of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise and only for Apple's M1 and M2 Mac PCs in a VM (virtual hardware) mode. You will have to use Parallels Desktop version 18, which first launched back in August 2022. In a separate FAQ section, Microsoft points out the many limitations of running Windows 11 Arm on these Macs. That includes not being able to run Windows apps or games that use DirectX 12 or OpenGL3.3, along with no support for the Android or Linux Subsystems.

The other authorized solution for Windows 11 on Macs is to sign up for Microsoft 365. You can then connect your Mac to a Microsoft server, where you can run a cloud-based version of Windows 11. Obviously, this requires both an Internet connection as well as a subscription to the Microsoft 365 Business Cloud PC service, which starts at $31 a month per user.

Microsoft supports Parallels Desktop for running Windows 11 Arm on Apple M1 and M2 Macs