What’s new in Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac

I’m thrilled to announce the release of Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac – the latest and greatest version of our product!  

The biggest highlight is the new Parallels AI package, offering secure, downloadable pre-packaged virtual machines to quickly enhance AI developing skills in an offline environment.  

Parallels Desktop 20 is also ready for macOS Sequoia and Windows 11 24H2 and introduces a new Management Portal as a part of the new Enterprise Edition. It offers numerous updates for Windows, macOS and Linux VMs.  

Try Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac now – it is better than ever.  

PS. Read all the way to the end for a fun Easter egg!  

Ready for macOS Sequoia 15 

The new Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac supports the upcoming macOS Sequoia (when released), improves the application stability on this operating system, and allows Mac users to enjoy AI-powered Writing Tools with Windows apps (requires macOS Sequoia 15.1).  

Preview macOS Sequoia 15 using Parallels Desktop. 

This version decreases the use of deprecated APIs for content capture (such as CGDisplayStream and CGWindowListCreateImage), which now trigger system alerts that indicate they might be able to collect detailed information about the user. Instead, it moves to the recommended macOS API to ensure security and compliance. 

In addition, macOS Sequoia provides the ability to sign in to Apple ID in macOS virtual machines on Apple silicon!  

This long-awaited improvement allows developers to fully leverage macOS virtual machines for building and testing software in an isolated environment.  

With Parallels Desktop for Mac, it is so easy to install a new macOS virtual machine on Apple silicon.  

Ready for Windows 11 24H2 

Improving the stability and integration of this major Windows 11 update in a virtual environment has been a major goal since Windows 11 24H2 appeared in the Canary channel in early 2024. 

These efforts include fixes for the NVMe driver, express Windows 11 installation on Intel-based Mac computers, mouse cursor positioning, and a fix for the dynamic resolution to sustain the ability to resize a Windows 11 VM window with automatic resolution adjustments.  

From the Microsoft side, optimizations for the new major Windows 11 version 24H2 ensure users’ workflows remain uninterrupted while running legacy Windows apps (built for the Intel platform) and get up to 80% performance boost[1] for certain computational workloads thanks to the improved Prism emulator built into Windows 11 on Arm OS.  

State of Windows apps on Apple silicon Macs 

Contrary to popular belief, most Windows apps run just fine in Windows 11 on Arm – the version of Windows OS users run on a Mac with Apple silicon.  

With the increased adoption of Apple silicon, Parallels Desktop became an essential tool for many professionals who need access to the Windows OS ecosystem – our customers happily run more than 200,000 Windows apps on their computers. 

Parallels is proud to be the first Microsoft-authorized solution for running Arm versions of Windows 11 on Mac, helping to amplify the adoption of the Arm platform by software developers.  

The latest release offers improved compatibility with ArcGIS Pro, LabVIEW, Ninja Trader, and other applications so you can now seamlessly install and run on a Mac with Apple silicon—all with the help of Parallels Desktop for Mac.  

It’s also great to see software companies shift their strategy and start delivering product updates that run natively in Windows 11 on Arm which means more apps will soon become available for Apple silicon users. Recent examples include Malwarebytes ThreatDown, Opera browser, Adobe Illustrator, LibreOffice, and others. 

Streamline your development workflow 

The Parallels Desktop 20 release reflects our ongoing commitment to delivering the best environment for developers to build, automate, and test solutions on every major operating system (Windows, Linux, and macOS).  

Let’s start with the Visual Studio Code extension for Parallels Desktop. This tool allows you to create and manage your Parallels Desktop virtual machines from a single user interface — and it’s becoming a popular choice, with over 50,000 downloads and counting.  

• This release introduces the ability to control virtual machines using natural language with Microsoft Copilot integrated into the Parallels Visual Studio Code extension.   

• DevOps and developers can use Parallels Desktop GitHub Actions to transform their CI/CD workflows, automating the deployment and management of virtual machines directly from their GitHub repository. Imagine triggering VM provisioning, testing, and configuration automatically as part of your GitHub Actions pipeline, eliminating manual steps, reducing errors, and accelerating your development process.  

• Enjoy the convenience of the Parallels Desktop DevOps Service to manage and orchestrate multiple Parallels Desktop hosts and virtual machines. Built to cater to the unique needs of DevOps teams, developers, and IT administrators, this service offers robust tools and automation capabilities that simplify the management of complex environments, enabling you to accelerate your software delivery process. 

• Perhaps the most exciting feature of this release is the introduction of the Parallels AI Package, now available in the extension catalog. These allow developers to start working and experimenting with AI at a low cost, with quick onboarding, and the ability to test on different configurations, including those without network access. Interested? Read more about AI VMs. 

You can also join our Discord server to ask questions, share your experience, and get help from the community. 

If you’re interested in macOS virtual machines…  

For developers and DevOps who run macOS virtual machines on a Mac with Apple silicon, the new version delivers:  

• New! The ability to use snapshots to quickly save and restore the system state for an even more flexible development and testing process.  

• An improved Parallels Packer plugin for a faster macOS VM installation in express mode, automating the initial setup process using Apple Vision framework (OCR).  

• An enhanced Parallels executor for GitLab runner that now allows the use of macOS VMs on Apple silicon Mac computers.  

Improvements for Linux fans 

The Parallels Desktop team has listened to your feedback about the issues when running the newly released kernels inside Parallels Desktop virtual machines.  

It’s well-known that the newest Linux kernels can sometimes be unstable and lead to compatibility challenges. However, we didn’t just acknowledge the issue — we took the first step to solve it. 

Through careful analysis, the team discovered that nearly 50% of the reported issues were related to the Shared Folder driver operating within the kernel space.  

Tackling this required adopting the high-level FUSE API, which should significantly reduce installation issues caused by kernel API changes in the near future.  

This enhancement is designed to improve compatibility and ensure seamless support for future Linux distributions, reaffirming our commitment to providing you with a reliable and consistent virtualization experience. 

This change also allowed us to improve performance for certain operations. You will feel the speed improvements when working with the volumes shared from Mac — now up to 4x faster than before[2].  

Introducing Management Portal and Parallels Desktop Enterprise Edition — coming later this fall 

I’m excited to announce a significant update that transforms how IT administrators manage Parallels Desktop virtual machines across their organizations. 

The changes are based on user feedback, particularly how IT administrators have expressed the need for more advanced tools to manage their Parallels Desktop environments.  

Common requests included the ability to control virtual machines remotely from a single interface, centralized monitoring of VM performance across the entire organization, and a more convenient way to deploy the virtual machines to endpoint Macs.  

The Parallels Desktop team has taken this feedback to heart and are thrilled to introduce the Management Portal, which addresses these needs head-on.  

To complement the release of the Management Portal, the Parallels Desktop Enterprise Edition is now available—it’s our most advanced offering yet.  

Created for organizations that need more control, visibility, and efficiency in managing their large-scale virtual environments, the new Edition unlocks access to the new Management Portal. 

And that’s just the beginning. The Enterprise Edition is packed with enhancements that will empower your IT team to operate more effectively and efficiently than ever before. 

Stay tuned for further updates! If you’re eager to be among the first to experience these new capabilities, reach out to our sales team today for more details and to arrange an exclusive demo: https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/enterprise/.  

Streamline the deployment process  

In the world of IT management, seamless software deployment is crucial.  

However, some IT admins using Parallels Desktop have recently faced a challenging roadblock when deploying the application through some Mobile Device Management (MDM) providers.  

The issue stemmed from the bundle structure of the deployment package, which, while powerful, was not widely supported by many MDM providers, e.g., Microsoft Intune.  

As a result, admins were forced to find workarounds, such as deploying the software via custom scripts. Additionally, our customers reported the package can’t be run on Mac computers with macOS Sequoia.   

The latest release introduces support for converting the existing bundle package into a flat package format, which is compatible with most MDM providers.  

This simple yet powerful change ensures that IT admins can now deploy Parallels Desktop without resorting to complex scripts.  

The flat package format maintains all the essential capabilities of the original bundle, including the ability to pass a license, configure policies, and deploy VMs with precision.   

For MDMs with file size limitations, admins can now link a cloud-stored VM in the package, streamlining large deployments. The option to include the VM file in the package remains available.  

To further enhance the deployment experience, Parallels has added the ability to always deploy the latest version of the Parallels Desktop application without needing to bundle the DMG file with each package.  

This ensures that IT admins can use the time they used to spend on building a new package on other crucial tasks.  

These advancements mark a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to improving the IT admin experience. With these new features, deploying Parallels Desktop across a network of Macs is simpler and more flexible than ever before.  

Can’t wait? You can give it a try now: https://www.parallels.com/products/business/download/.