Parallels, the company known for creating virtualization that enables you to run Windows and other operating systems on a Mac, has confirmed that Parallels Desktop is compatible with the MacBook Neo.
It was unclear at the time of launch whether Apple’s new $600 would have enough capacity to run Windows apps, but in a recent update to its website, Parallels said that initial testing shows its software runs “stable,” though performance is still being evaluated.
The MacBook Neo uses an A18 Pro chip, which debuted recently and, because this chip is based on the same ARM architecture as the M-series chips for Macs, it is still capable of running Parallels’ Windows virtual machine.
But there’s a caveat to all this. just because you can do Do something, doesn’t mean you should do it. While Parallels Desktop could theoretically be a viable option for Neo owners who are only interested in light Windows use, anything that puts significant strain on the CPU or GPU is going to present a problem.
That’s because the MacBook Neo only comes with 8GB of RAM, and as Parallels highlights, Windows 11 requires a minimum of 4GB of RAM to run. This leaves very little space for macOS and your Mac apps to run alongside Windows, which is going to impact the laptop’s performance to a great extent. Add to this the lack of a cooling fan, which means the chip will reduce clock speeds when it detects heavy CPU or GPU load, and this is definitely not a device for power users.
If you really want to use Windows on a Mac, Parallels recommends choosing an Apple laptop like the new MacBook Pro with 16GB of integrated memory or more. And for those who are satisfied with macOS and want to save some money, we dubbed the MacBook Neo the best $600 laptop ever in our recently published review.
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