Let's face it, Mac computers are impressive in terms of quality and the performance. I don't blame you if you use one, but at the same time, you live in this bubble of Apple's ecosystem that limits your access to thousands of games and apps that are only available on Windows. It limits your Microsoft Excel features. And in some cases, your work might require access to Windows for compatibility or testing purposes. So, instead of buying a whole different machine to solve this problem, let me introduce you to Parallels. It's literally one extra window on your Mac that gives you access to the world of Microsoft Windows in the most convenient way. So, let's jump into it to show you how Parallels can change the way you use your Mac. So, what is Parallels? It's simply an app that runs Windows, Linux, or older versions of Mac OS as a virtual machine on your M series or Intelbased Mac computer.
For the full list of supported operating systems per Mac type, I'm going to leave this link in the description. But there are a couple of points that are worth noting. Intelbased Macs can only run the x86 versions of the operating systems, while the M series can run the ARM versions, but with the help of parallel preview version of x86 emulation, you can also run x86 operating systems on M series max, which is a nice feature to have.
This video is dedicated for installing the latest version of Windows on my M series Mac, which is the most common scenario. To be more specific, I will install Windows 11 on my M4 Mac Mini running Mac OS Tahoe. And here are the system requirements to get the most out of Parallels 26, which I'm going to leave its link in the description if you want to check it yourself. So, let me start by showing you how to set up Parallels on your Mac. I remember those days when installing Windows using Apple's Boot Camp was a very long and complicated process. So, I was curious to see how easy to install Windows 11 using Parallels compared to what I used to experience before. It turned out to be as easy as installing a normal app. I started by downloading the installation file, doubleclicked on it, gave it all the permissions needed, chose Windows 11 from the list, and gone through a three-steps wizard. Starting this point, I didn't touch my Mac. It downloaded the installation file, which is 4.53 GB, and finished the whole setup process in about 12 minutes.
But how long it takes depends on your Mac and the internet speed. Lastly, I activated my license and created a Parallels account to proceed. By this, I have a fully functional Windows 11 on my M4 Mac Mini in just 15 minutes. That's way easier and faster than Apple's Boot Camp. The next thing I want to talk about is what makes Parallels stand out. The top feature on my list is the coherence mode, which you can access by clicking the parallels shortcut in the toolbar, then go to view or use the control command C shortcut on your keyboard. This mode allows you to use Mac and Windows app side by side as if it's one operating system. For example, I can use a spotlight search to open Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Store, or the Windows version of Microsoft Excel, etc. As you see, all of them are on my Mac desktop without the need to switch between both operating systems, which makes the experience effortless.
Secondly, the seamless integration. For example, I can copy something from Apple Notes and paste it directly in my word document running on Windows and vice versa. Apple writing tools can be used on any of my Windows apps. Even my files are accessible on both operating systems. So if I have a file on my Mac desktop, I can access it on my Windows desktop and the other way around. So I don't need to think about ways to access the same files on both. Plus with Parallels 26, Windows virtual machines can now see how much free space left on the Mac, which wasn't the case before. This change minimizes the risk of running into full disk issues, freezes, or slowdowns, especially during large installs. Third, the performance. Windows runs really well through parallels. I didn't face any slowdowns or issues. After some time, I forgot that I'm running two operating systems on the same machine. It feels like one computer giving me access to everything I need.
Plus, you have the flexibility to choose how many CPU cores and RAM to allocate to Windows depending on how demanding is your workflow and hardware capabilities. To achieve this, you have to shut down the Windows virtual machine using the traditional way or click on parallels shortcut in the toolbar. Then go to actions and click shutdown. Once done, click the parallels shortcut again. Then open the control panel and click on the gear button. Then head over to the hardware tab under the CPU and memory section.
It's set to automatic by default. In my case, it allocated four CPU cores and 6 GB of RAM to Windows. To check how many cores and RAM your Mac has, open the system information page using the Spotlight search. I have the M4 Mac menu with 10 CPU cores and 16 GB of RAM. It's recommended not to allocate more than 50% of your hardware resources to the secondary OS to avoid any stability issues. With that said, I can choose manual and change the CPU cores and RAM to make them higher or lower based on how demanding are my tasks, but so far I'm happy with the recommended settings. I also tried a game from the Microsoft Store just to get an idea about how well it works. I only have 256GB of storage, so I couldn't try massive size games, which you can normally play if you have a more powerful hardware.
But either way, I was able to play Minecraft for Windows without a problem, as shown now on the screen. Plus, you have the ability to connect a controller if you want. Last but not least, Parallels gives you a lot of control on how to operate the virtual machine. So, let me show you the top features I came across. You get the ability to reclaim disk space on shutdown if there is anything reclaimable, which is handy in case you have a limited storage.
Under the options page, you can adjust the file sharing settings between Windows and Mac, either to mirror everything or to choose custom folders. You can also include or exclude cloud storage in addition to plenty of other settings that you can adjust as shown now on the screen. As I mentioned earlier, under the hardware page, you can choose the CPU and RAM you want to allocate to your virtual machine, plus other settings for the preferrals like the mouse and keyboard, printers, USB, and more. Under security, you can isolate Windows from Mac, which creates a separate environment and blocks all the sharing features between both operating systems. Plus, you can choose what actions require password for an extra layer of security. Under backup, you can set parallels to include your Windows snapshots in time machine backups, which you can easily restore in case anything went wrong. Additionally, you can create your backups using parallels smart guard feature and set its own schedule or integrated with time machine by enabling the optimize for time machine option. By this, I covered the most important features.
So, let's talk about the pricing. Currently, there is a massive 35% discount on yearly subscriptions. You can get the standard version for as low as $65 a year, pro for $78 and business for $97.49. To me, all three have a reasonable price. But if you are an individual who wants to get the most out of your Mac, I do recommend the pro version over the standard for multiple reasons. It allows you to allocate more hardware resources to each virtual machine. It gives you access to the command line interface, run graphic intensive apps and multiple virtual machines at the same time. develop, automate, test, and debug in multiple operating systems simultaneously. You get all of these features for just $13 more, which is a much better value for money.
Students can get even a better discount of 50% instead of 35, and later down the road, you can upgrade your current plan at a discounted price. All plans include a 30-day money back guarantee, which gives you a peace of mind. If you are interested, you will find my affiliate link in the description. So, here are my final thoughts about Parallels. I was really impressed by the seamless integration and the performance. I always wanted to enjoy Mac computers powerful performance without being trapped in Apple's ecosystem, which Parallels achieved with an extremely convenient and easy way.
And in my opinion, the price is very reasonable considering the money and hassle you will save for not buying an extra Windows PC. So, that was my review of Parallels 26 for Mac. Go ahead and check my affiliate link in the description to know more..
