Apple M1 ARM64 – Parallels, Windows, and Office Caveat

We are setting up a new Apple MacBook Air with the M1 ARM64 based processor.

There are a couple of caveats when it comes to setting up Windows and Office on the new chip:

  1. Parallels for ARM64 is in Beta Mode
  2. Windows for ARM64 is in Beta Mode

The same is true for Office on ARM64: Beta Mode.

The language on the Parallels page for installing was not too clear so we ended up purchasing a license for what turned out to be the Intel/x86 chip. 🙁

We’re still waiting to see if we can get a refund.

Keep this in mind: No purchase necessary at the time of this writing!

2021-03-30 NOTE: Full responsibility for the purchase lies with me. While I don’t pay attention to Apple tech and its needs all that often, the change from Intel to ARM64 should have triggered at least a cursory look knowing that the code for each is not compatible. So, mea culpa!

Philip Elder
Microsoft High Availability MVP
MPECS Inc.
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