Apple’s new 24-inch iMac is its first desktop PC to include Apple Silicon. If you are planning to go for it and have never played with an Apple M1 PC before, there are a few things you should know, such as whether you can use external monitors with it. Also, depending on how you use your current machine, you might be wondering if you can run Windows 10 on your new iMac M1.
The answer is yes, but not by traditional means.
Boot Camp no longer exists
In 2005, at WWDC, the Cupertino company announced that Macs would switch from PowerPC to Intel. In 2006, Apple had a product called Boot Camp that shipped with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It allowed you to dual-boot Windows and Mac OS X (later renamed to OS X, then macOS).
Boot Camp is gone for the Apple Silicon Macs. Actually, the icon still appears, but if you click on it, you will be informed that it does not exist.
So no, you can’t run Windows on bare metal, but you can run it through virtualization. This is where Parallels comes in.
Windows 10 virtualization via Parallels
Parallels creates virtualization software that has been around for ages. The good news is that Apple M1 support for Parallels is currently in production.
Note that these instructions work for any Mac M1, up to the more affordable MacBook Air (which is a recommended laptop for Apple enthusiasts). However, unless Parallels brings a version of its product to iPadOS, it won’t work for the iPad Pro M1.
What do you need
- A Parallels Desktop subscription, which costs $ 79.99 per year for home and student use, or $ 99.99 per year for Pro or Business editions. You can get Parallels here.
- A Windows 10 VHDX compiled for ARM64 silicon. Right now, the only officially available images are preview versions. The reason is that they are designed for use in Microsoft’s Hyper-V, and Hyper-V for Windows on ARM is in preview. You can download an image from here. Just like with Boot Camp, you must bring your own Windows license.
The installation is fairly straightforward. Just follow the Parallels Desktop instructions to get started.
Limitations with Parallels Desktop on Apple Silicon
Now that you have Windows 10 up and running on your 24in iMac M1, there are a few things you should know.
- Windows on ARM supports 32-bit ARM applications, 64-bit ARM applications, and emulated x86 / x64 applications. The Apple M1 chipset does not support 32-bit ARM applications. There’s no real reason for this, as there aren’t 32-bit ARM apps in the Apple ecosystem.
- This will only be a problem with some apps from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft offers x64 versions of its inbox applications. In fact, the first time you open something like Microsoft Store or Photos, you’ll get a message that says the app needs to be updated.
Parallels Desktop is pretty good
Parallels Desktop does a lot of work to bridge the gap between macOS and Windows 10. You can access your macOS files from Windows. In fact, all of your macOS desktop shortcuts will appear on the Windows desktop. You can also set the default settings where certain things will open in macOS. For example, from Windows 10 in Parallels, you can configure it so that your default browser is always Safari.
In conclusion, the short answer is, yes, you can run Windows 10 on the iMac M1, but there are some limitations. There is no more Boot Camp, so you will have to go for virtualization.
- Parallels Desktop is virtualization software to run Windows, Linux or anything else
- Apple’s new all-in-one features a 4.5K display, M1 chipset, and pretty colors