Third-party app developers are really stepping up to revise their apps for the new Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip. Every day I receive update notices or see news stories about these updates.
Parallels On Apple M1 Reviews
Parallels Desktop for Mac with Apple M1 chip Apple’s “one more thing” event on November 10, 2020, revealed the first Mac computers powered by the Apple M1 chip. Parallels is excited to see the performance, power efficiency, and virtualization features that are brought to the Mac with the Apple M1 chip. Jan 07, 2021 Anyway, the Parallels Desktop technical preview release for M1-based Macs is an early look at the work that Parallels is doing to adapt to Apple’s new architecture. And that means it’s not. I feel like the CPU capped at 1.0 GHz is the issue perhaps? The 2014 air on bootcamp gets 3.9 GHz where as the M1 Mac mini runs a flat 1.0 GHz. Also as far as optimization, trying to set it to parallels instead of Apple repeatedly tells me to restart Mac and doesn't let me launch parallels while it's selected as parallels.
Some of the Mac apps I use every day have released updates. These include the Microsoft Office for Mac suite, ScreenFlow, VLC and many others. (If I tried to give you a full list of the apps that have been updated, it would be out of date by the time you read this. Lol.) Not sure if a particular Mac app has been updated for the new Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip? Check the sidebar below.
Truthfully, Parallels is no exception. The latest versions of Parallels® Access and Parallels® Toolbox, are universal binaries, meaning they contain the necessary code to run at full speed on either Mac with Intel processor or Mac with the Apple M1 chip. You probably already know that in December Parallels released a Technical Preview of Parallels® Desktop for the new Mac with Apple M1 chip. Already, tens of thousands of Parallels beta testers have started using this Technical Preview.
At the risk of revealing my age, I was a Mac user when Apple switched from Motorola processors to PowerPC, and when they switched again from PowerPC to Intel. The switch to Apple Silicon appears (at first blush) to be moving faster, and with developers getting their apps updated much more quickly.
If you have a Mac with the Apple M1 chip, please let us know in the comments about your experience in this transition.
How to tell if a Mac app has been updated for Mac with the Apple M1 chip
There are two easy ways to check if an app has been updated for Mac with the Apple M1 chip:
Parallels On Apple M1 Phone
Parallels Desktop M1 Mac
#1: Look at the app’s Get Info dialog
If you just want to check on a single app, this way is the best choice.
To open the app’s Get Info dialog, select the app, and then use Cmd-I, or choose the “Get Info” menu item on the right-click menu.
The “Kind” field will tell you whether the app is Universal or Intel.
See Figure 1.
#2: Look at the Mac System Report
If you want to check the status of all your apps, this way is a better choice.
To do so:
1. Choose the “About this Mac” option on the Apple menu.
2. Click on the “System Report” button.
3. Click on “Applications” in the “Software” entry in the left pane of the System Report window.
4. The “Kind” column will show you whether an app is Universal or Intel. Click on an individual app for more details.
See Figure 2.