[GTO]

I love Apple's build quality, keyboard, screen & overall aesthetic sense. Am typing this from a 16" Macbook Pro running Windows 10 via Bootcamp.

Loving the Apple M chips even more due to their speed & long battery life. Very tempted to own an Apple Pro M3, but I cannot use MacOS. Tried for a few months, gave up. Windows is home & hard-coded into my muscle memory.

Any users of Parallels on Team-BHP? What are the pros & cons? How seamless is it to run Windows on Mac via Parallels?

Related Thread (Mac vs PC : Which do you prefer and why?)

[roy_libran]

I used to use Parallels in the past, but have moved to AWS Workspaces for the last year or so. Works out cheaper, pay as you go, and can access my Windows / Linux persistent desktops over multiple devices if need be.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by GTO

Any users of Parallels on Team-BHP? What are the pros & cons? How seamless is it to run Windows on Mac via Parallels?

Used to be for many years. It's seamless and I recollect having suggested you previously. I no longer use it as everything is on Mac.

You should also look at Windows 365 cloud PC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih9kJj6luCg

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows-365

[dileepcm]

I have had it for work for some time, but what eventually happens is that things get really heavy and machines start running out of resources. My use cases lead to heavy requirements around several MS office apps + Visio + SharePoint + One Drive etc. They do have iOS apps too, but not ideal for power users. iOS versions are several generations behind.

Further, having to run network connections, VPNs, audio / video out of windows that runs within iOS etc are always potential pain points. Internally within my org, the support available to deal with such problems were not great. This overall means that connectivity issues + integration across apps [Like MS Teams + Outlook] becomes unusable. If these are not your key requirements, I do not see any issues in running Windows inside iOS.

Eventually I moved to Microsoft Surface laptops [I have a surface 4] - which are excellent options incase if you want to have a look. They are not as "well built" as Apples, but I am very happy with them.

Having said - may I ask what are the specifics of requirements you have that works only in Windows? My personal machine is a MacBook and unless there are some very specific apps, the transition is not that hard even if you think otherwise. For me, its just like switching from one car to the other of similar aspects - takes a minute or two - its as simple as that.

[venom_valak]

I use Parallels on a daily basis on Mac as my work demands it. I am also on same boat as you @GTO, love mac hardware and microsoft software. If windows is what you want to run on Mac, Parallels is the best choice. Never faced any glitches and constant updates keep improving the experience.

However, if you are going to have a speedy and reliable internet whenever you work, best way forward is cloud Windows like others suggested. Saves you the hassle of migrating data when switching machines, and also enables work from any system.

[vijai]

If you are only going to use windows, I'd say buying a M series macbook isn't ideal. Windows for Arm isnt available in open market. Windows for Arm is also not as good as x86. You are limited with apps and last I remember, just microsoft store to install apps.

Going the virtualization route is bad too considering you will seldom use MacOS. Virtualization will always take a hit on performance besides, it now has to do a overhead of converting x86 instructions to Arm instructions. Boot times, data locked inside a vm which becomes a headache to recover in case of mishap. On top of this, it is not a first party support like bootcamp so Apple, Microsoft and parallels(or vmware or any virtualization provider) will open their hands in case something happens.

For you use case, I'd say get a good windows laptop for the same price as macbook and you will have far better experience and better hardware too (and probably save a lot as well)

[sunnysideup_]

I would heavily suggest either a Surface Laptop Studio/Laptop 5, or a Dell XPS 15. They re designed to run Windows native, and would thus offer a much more cohesive experience. User experience is a lot more than just hardware; frustrating software would make you regret spending all of that money on the admittedly sexy hardware. Top of the line XPS and Surface laptops aren't ny lesser in the hardware department though, they just don't have the iconic recognisability of a Macbook. Now that could either be a positive or a negative for you. If you're getting a Mac, you're getting it for the software and for the way it communicates with your other Apple devices- your cellphone, watch, iPad, airpods. Otherwise, to me, it feels like getting a BMW with a Suzuki engine; I'd rather have a top-of-the-line Toyota.

[sse]

I use a MacBook Pro M series and have been in Apple Ecosystem for a decade.
While, Parallels seems easy and best, I would suggest you to try Crossover Emulator.
This is the link.

Emulators does not take your precious SSD Space to install Windows. You can just download any Windows App and install using Crossover without installing Windows OS. While the learning might be little steep, it's worth giving it a try.

I have been using Tally along with few other inventory softwares designed to run only on Windows on Mac using Crossover.

Hope it helps.

[crazy_coyote166]

You used to be able to install Windows natively on your Intel based macs. I don't know how it works with the current ARM based M series chips. Please check the feasibility for that in the first place as that is the best option for you. I used to get 12hr battery like on my 2013 Macbook pro running windows compared to about 8hrs running macos.

That said, the current generation of ARM based macs have very good emulators. Rosetta(their translation layer for x86->ARM) is fast and you get native type performance for most day to day tasks.

On the flip side, checkout the XPS series by Dell. Built like macs, great battery life and insane screen panels.

[ads11]

When my partner got the M1 Air I was extremely envious of the everyday usability of it, especially that stellar battery life and the fact there seemed to be no compromise to performance.

I'd be remiss if I didn't consider once or twice the prospect of some clever clog figuring out how to run Windows natively on even the M1 Air - that would pretty much become The default laptop then imo. But as others have pointed out, Microsoft still needs to do a lot to get Windows to run fine without compromise on ARM. Wonder if the flashy Qualcomm announcement of their M series rivalling Oryon chipsets starts to bring that level of benefit to the Windows world. Although from what I can tell AMDs latest Ryzen chips bring a lot of that power-battery life balance that the new Macs are known for.

If you're after the Macbook vibe in build quality and experience, as a longtime XPS user just a few words of warning GTO. Dell's XPS line are gorgeous but my XPS 15 runs hot as hell with fans spooling up quite easily. Dad's XPS 13 is a stunning little thing but it too can get really loud and hot. Also Dell's driver bugs seem to be one of the things you just have to live with.

[itsaj]

I have been a long term Windows user and since my work involved with Microsoft stack for development, I had no option but to sue Windows machines. I got MacBookPro 13" in 2013 and it was a refreshing experience. I haven't had anything productive on it on a day-to-day basis as I had to use Windows for development. Installed bootcamp with Windows natively and it was good.

Got an XPS 13" in 2018 November, Was doing all my development since then on XPS. It gets so hot that I cannot bear it on laps for longer durations. And I named it my little Boeing for the noise it starts right from system startup. So noisy. When left in sleep in clamshell mode, it somehow still gets hot and fans run in middle of night. Yes, that's audible from few meters in a silent room. While I am still using it, the palm rest panel which is rubberised kind of material gave up. It became sticky and disgusting. No amount of IPA solution or anything couldn't remove the stickiness. Have to live with it.

In 2021, my work demanded more of many other things than windows based development alone. So, I got a MacBookPro 14" with M1 PRO. It is kind of revealing. It's blazing fast and literally zero noise. Its a worthy investment. I got parallels with Windows for obvious reasons and mind you Windows in Parallels on MBP is faster and silent than in Native machine. Of course it might not be an ideal comparison since XPS aged by this time. Still, it is a lot of difference. Word of caution, when using Windows on parallels the system gets a bit hot, not unbearable kind though. I never heard fans kicking in MBP anytime in these years. Battery drains much faster too. In short, Parallels on Mac is compatible and good. With MBP screen, it appears beautiful too.

Using "only Windows" on Parallels on MacBookPro is, if I may with all due respect, like sticking in back seat of a car, missing the beauty of driving it . I wouldn't discourage that way. It can start that way and eventually get used to MacOS sometime later. Windows native support on Apple Silicon will come for sure as industry is moving to Arm processors. But no roadmap yet in public of when it can happen.

I am not sure of the apps or anything that you would like to use on Windows. But all office apps are supported in MacOS even with Apple Silicon natively. And they don't have any difference to Windows version of them. And for browsing, it had support of all browsers. It might have some learning curve but it will be worth it.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by GTO

Very tempted to own an Apple Pro M3, but I cannot use MacOS.

If you decide to get one yourself, consider M3-Max. Even for everyday work, it's much faster than Pro, especially if you already have an M1/ M2 Pro. From personal hands-on experience with all variants (thanks to generous return policies)

[logout]

Parallels is sufficient for my normal work but my son complains that it is useless for his windows steam games.