Parallels has launched Parallels Desktop 16, the latest version of its Mac-based desktop virtualization solution.

“Parallels invested more than 25-man-years of engineer programming to take full advantage of the new macOS Big Sur architecture and revamped kernel extensions to deliver our best Windows-onMac performance ever for our Parallels Desktop 16 customers,” Parallels senior vice president Nick Dobrovolskiy said in a prepared statement. “The innovative new features in Parallels Desktop 16 include the world’s first support for Metal applications with 3D capabilities running in a macOS Big Sur virtual machine on a macOS Big Sur host. Performance improvements include launching twice as fast, up to 20 percent faster Windows resume and shutdown, faster DirectX, and more.”

In addition to the features noted above, key changes in Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac Standard include improved DirectX 11 and OpenGL 3 graphics performance in Windows and/or Linux, up to 10 percent longer battery life when used with Windows in Travel Mode, the ability to automatically recover unused disk space when shutting down a VM, new multi-touch gestures for Windows apps, and enhanced printing capabilities that pass between Windows and Mac.

Additionally, Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition adds support for 32 virtual CPUs and 128 GB of RAM for each VM, Visual Studio integration, nested virtualization with support for Hyper-V, linked VM cloning, and other additional features. And a Parallels 16 for Mac Business Edition includes everything in Pro plus corporate VM provisioning capabilities, passwordless updates, and more.

Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac Standard costs $99.99 for a new perpetual license or $79.99 per year on subscription; existing perpetual customers can upgrade for $49.99. Pro Edition is $99.99 per year on a subscription or $49.99 per year on upgrade. Business Edition is $99.99 per year. All three editions are available now.

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