Can I Run Intel Windows Apps on Apple Silicon Macs?
If you rely on certain Windows applications compiled for Intel x86 or x64 processors, and you are in the market for a new Mac, this question is definitely on your mind. Can I run my Intel Windows applications on a new Apple Silicon Mac?
The simple answer is yes.
How does it work?
Now for the “how?”
Apple Silicon Macs will not be able to support Windows for Intel processors. You read that right. This is because Apple Silicon is a variant of the ARM processor. This means no Boot Camp to run Windows for x64 processor installation. You will have to use virtualization to run ARM-based operating systems.
At the time of writing this article, Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac is the only virtualization software on macOS that supports Apple Silicon and can run ARM processor-based operating systems. So, you will need to purchase this for your Mac.
“But I thought you said I can run Windows applications compiled for Intel processors?” Yes, I did say that. Microsoft will soon release a version of Windows that can run on ARM processors. In their recent Windows 11 announcement, Microsoft stated that not only have they partnered with x86 processor vendors like AMD and Intel, but also Qualcomm, which provides ARM processors. Translation: Microsoft wants Windows 11 to run well on ARM. More importantly, Windows 11 for ARM will be able to run applications built for x86 and x64 processors. The way this works is similar to how x64 applications on macOS with Apple Silicon, which uses a feature called Rosetta 2 to translate x64 instructions to ARM instructions on the fly.
How does it perform?
The Wintel application is going to run through virtualization and then a processor emulation, so you may be concerned about performance. The consensus is that performance is pretty good for non-GPU intensive applications. Games may not run well under virtualization, but this was the case anyway, even on Intel Macs. If you want the full power of your Intel Mac for Windows, you have to run Windows natively using Boot Camp, but this will be impossible for Apple Silicon Macs. However, for business applications, the performance should be fine.
How do we know this? Using the Windows Insider Program, people have been playing with Windows 10 for ARM preview on their M1 Macs and Parallels. The responses seem to be mostly positive.
Additional thoughts on hardware specs
If you are planning on going this route, you will want to get the option for more RAM on your Apple Silicon Mac. The performance you get when using less than 8 GB for Windows is not great and if 8 GB is all you have for your Mac, you may not be happy with the Windows performance. So, it would be wise to spend the extra bucks for RAM when you first purchase your new machine because you won’t be able to upgrade your RAM later.
For those who are hardware hackers, it turns out that the RAM is not on the same die as the CPU, but only packaged together. The whole Apple Silicon package is then soldered onto the motherboard. So technically, it is possible to upgrade the DRAM if you are tech-savvy enough to open the SoC package and then replace the DRAM chips underneath. Reportedly, some engineers have done this. But if you attempt it, you will likely destroy your new computer and will certainly void any warranty from Apple. I don’t recommend you try this.
