macOS Monterey 12 (when released)
macOS Big Sur 11.1 or newer
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer
macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 or newer
Apple M1 chip, Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, Core i9, Intel Core M or Xeon processor
4GB of RAM
500 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation
600 MB for Parallels Desktop application installation
Additional disk space for the guest operating system (at least 16 GB is required for Windows 10)
In macOS Big Sur, Parallels Desktop offers an easier onboarding experience by using the native macOS system extensions instead of the deprecated kernel ones.
Parallels Desktop 16 supports macOS Monterey 12 (when released)
macOS Big Sur 11.1 or newer
macOS Catalina 10.15.7 or newer
macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or newer
macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 or newer
If you enable Do Not Disturb in macOS, the Windows equivalent known as Focus Assist will automatically turn on in Windows 10 for a distraction-free, popup-free experience.
On the General tab of the virtual machine configuration, Windows may be set to automatically return all unused disk space to the Mac upon shutdown.
Parallels Desktop helps to save battery life when your Mac is not plugged in.
In the improved Travel Mode, Windows consumes fewer computing and network resources, which results in up to 10% longer battery life.
Parallels Desktop 16 delivers full support for OpenGL 3.3 Compatibility Profile to support more applications, including DIALux EVO 9, SAMSON Connect, ProPresenter 6, CLIN Check Pro, Rhino 6 and more.
Experience added support for the two-finger pinch gesture to rotate content in Windows 10 applications, such as Maps, Photos, Edge, and more. Zoom gesture has also improved to provide a smoother experience.
Up to 20% faster DirectX 11 graphics on Macs equipped with AMD Radeon graphics cards.
Get the world’s first Metal graphics support for macOS virtual machines. Run Mac apps like Maps, Pages, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, and many others. Note: Metal graphics is supported for macOS Big Sur (and later) virtual machines if Parallels Desktop 16 is installed in macOS Big Sur (and later) as well.
Parallels Desktop application startup
Windows resume and quit
In one click, use and download the latest Linux distributives, including Ubuntu 20.04, CentOS 8, Fedora 32, and Debian 10. In Linux, you may now use more applications, including Steam, Firefox Quantum web browser, and enjoy better multimonitor support for the KDE window manager.
(Pro and Business editions)
For those who use Parallels virtual machines for software development, executing “git status” for Git repositories located in Linux shared folders has become up to 75% faster.
Now, in the Startup & Shutdown pane of virtual machine configuration, you may choose a time period of inactivity, after which Windows will pause.
Installing Windows from an ISO image with multiple Windows editions is now fully automated. Parallels Desktop 16 will offer to select the desired Windows edition before the start of installation to eliminate manual entry of information related to edition, license key, etc.
