You may therefore find that some games or software simply don’t work or experience lag after installing Windows for ARM on an M-chip Mac. If it isn’t in the Microsoft Store though, it may not work on Windows ARM.Īlthough Windows for ARM can run most software that the Intel x86 version of Windows can (thanks to something called x86 emulation in Windows for ARM), it doesn’t always work with all programs or games. However, as a general rule, if the application you want to run is available in the Microsoft Windows app Store, then it probably runs on Windows for ARM. One issue with Windows for ARM is that some programs and applications either work slowly in it or don’t work with it at all. Since Apple Silicon is based on an ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) architecture, M1, M2 and M3 chips can only run the “Windows for ARM” version of Windows not the standard Intel version of Windows 11 that’s used on most Windows PCs. There are a few important things to be aware of before you go ahead and install Windows on an Apple Silicon Mac. Share files and folders between macOS and WindowsĬopy and paste images between macOS and Windows Run Windows and macOS apps at the same time Parallels is a much more convenient and powerful way to use Windows on a Mac and you can see some of the advantages of Parallels vs Boot Camp below. We don’t think Boot Camp is a big loss for Apple Silicon users however.

This means you can’t dual boot in Windows or macOS with Boot Camp on an Apple Silicon Mac like you can on Intel Macs. If you search for Boot Camp on an Apple Silicon Mac, you won’t find it because Apple has not made an Apple Silicon chip compatible version of Boot Camp for M1/M2/M3 Macs. Can You Use Boot Camp On Apple Silicon Macs?īoot Camp is a free utility in macOS that allows you to install other operating systems on Intel Macs only and you can’t use Boot Camp on M-series Macs because it does not work with the Apple Silicon chip. Parallels is also the only virtual machine to use Windows 11 on a Mac that is now officially authorized by Microsoft to install Windows 11 on a Mac.įor a more detailed look at how Parallels works, check out our full Parallels review. Parallels was the first virtual machine to be officially compatible with the Apple Silicon chips long before others such as VMware finally caught-up. There are also free ways to install Windows 11 on Apple Silicon Macs such as UTM but they’re very basic and don’t offer many features. Most other virtual machines require you to download Windows 11 manually and then customize the Windows 11 installation yourself which is a lot more complicated, especially for beginners.

Why Parallels Is The Best Way To Install Windows 11Īlthough there are other virtual machines for Macs, we found Parallels is by far the easiest and quickest way to install Windows 11 as it automatically downloads it from Microsoft and installs it in a matter of minutes.

Can You Install Windows 10 On Apple Silicon Macs?.

Other Ways To Use Windows 11 on M-chip Macs.

Which Games Work on Apple Silicon Macs Running Windows?.

How Does Windows 11 Perform on an M-chip Macs?.

How To Install Windows 11 on an M1, M2 & M3 Mac.

Can You Use Boot Camp On Apple Silicon Macs?.

Why Parallels Is The Best Way To Install Windows 11.

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