Parallels Desktop for Mac

What's new in this version:

Parallels Desktop 20.4.0
- Improves the network implementation for macOS virtual machines running on Apple silicon Macs, resolving multiple issues with VPN clients

Fixed:
- Fixes the implementation of “host-only” network configuration on macOS virtual machines. In this mode, the macOS virtual machine can only connect to the host Mac and its other virtual machines but is invisible from the outside.
- Fixes the issue that affected various Parallels Tools for Mac functionality (including drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste, network sharing, and more) on macOS virtual machines on Intel Macs running macOS Sequoia 15.4 and newer
- Fixes the virtual network adapter configuration issue, which affected network connectivity and virtual machine cloning in macOS virtual machines on Intel Macs
- Fixes the issue that affected the speed of switching between snapshots of macOS virtual machines


Parallels Desktop 20.3.2
- This update for Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.3.2 (55975) addresses overall stability and performance issues


Parallels Desktop 20.3.1
Fixed:
- the issue that prevented Windows 11 Start Menu from showing in Coherence mode when attempting to launch it from macOS Dock
- the issue that made Windows 11 virtual machines freeze when selecting several icons on the desktop
- the issue that affected drag-and-drop operations between Windows 11 virtual machines and Mac
- the issue that led to Xactimate Desktop crashing in Windows virtual machines when loading a project for 3D view
- the issue where a virtual machine running macOS could not be resumed after creating a snapshot in a suspended state


Parallels Desktop 20.3.0
General:
- Fixes the issue that led to the reset of a virtual machine’s suspended state when upgrading to Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.2.0 or newer
- Fixes the issue that led to an active Parallels Desktop license being shown as expired
- Fixes the issue that prevented macOS 15 users from authenticating the installation of Parallels Desktop with Touch ID
- Fixes the issue that required double authentication (TouchID and password) to change the settings of a protected virtual machine
- Adds support for SSE 4.2 instruction set in x86-64 emulation mode, required by many modern operating systems
- Adds Event Emitter functionality to the Parallels Desktop command-line utility (prlctl monitor-events) that continues to stream virtual machine events that an external recipient can listen to instead of querying for changes. Available in Pro, Business, and Enterprise editions

macOS (as a virtual machine):
- Improves the Shared network mode for macOS virtual machines running on Apple silicon Macs, enabling them to remain on the same VPN connection as your Mac’s own macOS system
- Enables support for USB passthrough on Macs running macOS Sequoia 15 and newer, allowing you to connect USB devices to a macOS virtual machine. Please note that this feature does not support connecting iPhone devices via USB
- Fixes the issue that made deleting a snapshot of a macOS virtual machine take longer than usual
- Fixes the issue that caused Figma to show a white or grey screen when launched in a macOS virtual machine
- Fixes the issue that prevented users from reverting to a snapshot after a change in the virtual machine’s configuration
- Fixes the issue that prevented the creation of new macOS virtual machines from Apple’s installation images on Intel Macs running macOS Monterey 12

Parallels Desktop 20.3.0 for Mac Business & Enterprise Edition:
- Enables administrators to use configuration profiles to limit users to an SSO-only activation experience that cannot be bypassed
- Fixes the issue that prevented direct Sharepoint & OneDrive links from being used for Golden Image files
- Fixes the issue that prevented macOS virtual machines from correctly installing from Golden Images
- Adds a Parallels Desktop activation profile (license key or SSO options) to Jamf’s repository of profiles


Parallels Desktop 20.2.2
- Fixes a critical security issue that affects Intel Macs


Parallels Desktop 20.2.1
Fixed:
- Enables system administrators to require Single Sign-On (SSO) activation for Business and Enterprise Edition installations using MDM configuration profiles. This prevents end users from activating their copies of Parallels Desktop for Mac in any other way.
- Fixes the issue that caused the installation process to get stuck at the 'Initializing Parallels Desktop...' stage on Macs with CrowdStrike installed
- Fixes the issue that prevented creating x86_64 Windows 10 virtual machines on Macs with M4 chips
- Fixes the issue that led to Parallels Desktop crashing when hovering the mouse over the Coherence mode icon in the virtual machine window
- Fixes the issue of macOS virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs failing to revert to previously made snapshots after a change in configuration
- Fixes the issue that prevented the installation of Parallels Tools on virtual machines running various versions of openSUSE Leap, Fedora, and CentOS


Parallels Desktop 20.2.0
Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.2.0 (55872) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:
General:
Launches early technology preview for importing and running x86_64 virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs initially created on Intel Macs. Note that this feature:
- is not available in the App Store and Standard editions
- comes with certain performance and functional limitations
- To learn more about this functionality and its limitations, please refer to this KB article

macOS (as a virtual machine):
- Note: Existing macOS virtual machines running on Apple silicon Macs will require a full restart to trigger the automatic update of Parallels Tools, which is required to enable the following improvements
- Enables support for time zone sync between your Mac and macOS virtual machines. Please note that Parallels Tools must be installed for the functionality to work;
- Fixes the issue that prevented the copy and paste clipboard from functioning correctly between your Mac’s primary operating system and a macOS virtual machine after creating a snapshot of the latter;
- Fixes the issue of macOS virtual machines not displaying the contents of a shared folder on Intel Macs

Parallels Desktop 20.2.0 for Mac Enterprise Edition:
- Enables administrators to provision SSO as the activation method for Parallels Desktop for Mac end users in their organizations
- Enables support for activating Parallels Desktop copies using MDM configuration profiles


Parallels Desktop 20.1.3
- Fixes the issue that prevented various Linux distros from installing and running correctly on Macs with M4 chips


Parallels Desktop 20.1.2
- Fixes the issue that caused slow scrolling in Windows 11 24H2 virtual machines


Parallels Desktop 20.1.1
Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.1.1 (55740) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:
- Fixes the issue that led to Parallels Desktop crashing when attempting to use Apple Writing Tools in Windows
- Fixes the virtual machine memory leak issue
- Resolves the issue that prevented Parallels Desktop from launching on Macs with Kaspersky Anti-Virus installed and configured in a certain way


Parallels Desktop 20.1.0
General:
- Fixes the issue that resulted in ISO installation images built for Arm architecture erroneously designated as incompatible during the VM setup process
- Introduces Enterprise Edition and the accompanying Management Portal (available a week after the release of this version)


Parallels Desktop 20.0.1
- Addresses overall stability and performance issues


Parallels Desktop 20.0.0
All editions of Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac:
Ready for macOS Sequoia 15:
- Parallels Desktop 20 supports the upcoming macOS Sequoia 15 as a primary OS on Mac and as a virtual machine, so you can upgrade your Mac computers once the new operating system becomes available

Look and Feel:
Brings significant improvements in the reliability and usability of Parallels Tools, which have been reworked using native UI in all supported operating systems: Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Windows on Mac:
- Adds support for Windows 11 24H2 once it becomes available. Based on our testing, Windows 11 version 24H2 improves the stability and speed of running x86-based apps in Windows on Arm, making many important Windows apps feasible on Apple Silicon Macs;
- Fixes the dynamic resolution issues when running a Windows 11 24H2 virtual machine in a windowed mode;
- Improves the safety of the Windows file deletion process by sending files deleted from shared folders to macOS Trash instead of permanently deleting them;
- Fixes the wireframe rendering issue in the Rhino 8 app on Apple Silicon Macs;
- Fixes the issue of Houdini 20 modeling software displaying graphical glitches and missing parts of modelled objects;
- Improves compatibility with numerous Windows apps, including ArcGIS Pro, LabVIEW, Ninja Trader, and many more;
- Mitigates the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) compatibility issues for Windows 11 machines running on Apple Silicon Macs by defaulting to WSL 1 instead of WSL 2.

Linux on Mac:
- Adds support for newer Linux distributions, such as Fedora 39/40, Kali 2024.2, and Ubuntu 24.04;
- Resolves the issue which prevented Ubuntu 24.04 installation on Intel Macs;
- Adopts the high-level FUSE API for the Parallels Tools to eliminate multiple compatibility issues with newer Linux kernel versions;
- Adds support for IPP printing from Linux virtual machines, enabling you to print from Linux using a printer connected to your Mac;
- Adds updated icons for Ubuntu, Fedora, and Kali Linux distributions;
- Fixes the issue with keyboard and mouse not working during the manual installation of an Ubuntu virtual machine.

macOS (in a virtual machine):
- Allows you to sign into Apple Account from macOS 15+ virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs (requires both your Mac and the virtual machine to run macOS Sequoia 15 or newer).

Note: This feature does not yet let you sign into the Mac App Store or Xcode;
- Adds support for creating snapshots of macOS virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Pro Edition:
- Introduces Parallels AI Package, a Linux-based virtual machine tailor-made to allow developers and students to quickly learn and begin developing machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and computer vision applications. The package is available via the Visual Studio Code extension catalog. Read more about AI Package here;
- Adds the ability to control virtual machines using natural language with Microsoft Copilot integrated into the Visual Studio Code extension;
- Adds support for using GitHub Actions to automate the deployment and management of virtual machines directly from a GitHub repository, e.g., triggering a virtual machine provisioning, testing, and configuration as part of a specific pipeline;
- Improves the Parallels Packer plugin experience for macOS virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs by automating the initial setup process using the Apple Vision framework (OCR).
- Software developers and IT pros using Parallels Desktop are welcome to share their feedback about these improvements, discuss feature suggestions, and have fun with like-minded people at Parallels Desktop Discord channel.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Business Edition:
- Adds the ability to control and orchestrate multiple Parallels Desktop hosts and virtual machines using our new Parallels Desktop for DevOps service;
- Improves compatibility with multiple MDM solutions (e.g., Microsoft Intune) thanks to a re-engineered deployment package that supports downloading pre-configured virtual machines from cloud-sourced and network storage destinations.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Enterprise Edition (coming later in 2024):

Introducing the new tier: Enterprise Edition, coming later this fall. This edition is designed specifically for organizations that require more control, visibility, and efficiency in managing large-scale virtual environments. Enterprise Edition will:
- Streamline the deployment of virtual machines, saving time and effort;
- Let you assign policies across groups of machines or users;
- Enable improved visibility into your managed virtual machines.

What was deprecated or removed from Parallels Desktop 20:
- According to the statistics from the users who participate in the Parallels Customer Experience program, some product features are used very seldom or not at all. We have decided to either stop supporting them or completely remove them from Parallels Desktop and focus on frequently used features and further enhancements.
- Below is the list of features that are no longer supported and will be removed in the future builds of Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.

On all Mac computers, the following things are no longer supported:
- Network boot for Windows, macOS, and Linux virtual machines

On Mac computers with Intel processors, the following things are no longer supported:
- Support for network and USB emulation that relies on kernel extensions
- Support for macOS 10.5 to 10.8 and Oracle Solaris virtual machines