Parallels recently released version 16 of its Parallels Desktop solution. The most important update is that it now also supports the most recent version of macOS Big Sur.
The Parallels Desktop solution enables application developers to support operating systems such as Windows, Linux, macOS applications and virtual machines (VM’s) on Apple’s macOS operating system. This way, developers can build and test their applications on just about any OS with their MacBook.
The most important update in version 16 is support for macOS Big Sur. According to the software developer, this was a challenge because with the introduction of Big Sur third-party kernel support for macOS is a thing of the past. This means that the software developers of Parallels were forced to put a lot of work into finding a workaround.
Other functionality
In addition to Big Sur support, Parallels Desktop 16 also offers other new functionality. For example, the latest version supports 3D Metal applications when running a macOS Big Sur VM on a macOS Big Sur host.
Printers can also be shared between the host and VM’s for multiple operating systems and zoom and rotary motion is supported for multitouch trackpads for Windows applications. Parallels Desktop 16 is designed to deliver better performance, including up to two times faster boot times and twenty percent more performance in DirectX and up to 75 percent faster ‘git status’ in Linux VM’s. With enhanced support for newer versions of OpenGL, it is now also possible to run Windows applications in a VM via Parallels.
End-users of the Pro Edition can now name their custom networks and export VM’s in a compressed format that, Parallels claims, is only a fraction of the size of the VM before compression. Furthermore, a plug-in has been added for Microsoft Visual Studio to facilitate testing in different operating systems.
Availability
Parallels Desktop 16 is now available. The standard version is a one-time purchase and costs 99.99 dollars. The Pro and Business Edition both cost 99.99 dollars as an annual subscription. Upgrading from Parallels 14 and 15 to version 16 requires a one-time charge of 49.99 dollars for the standard version.
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