It was unclear if other technical roadblocks might remain that would make this less likely to happen. In theory, a standalone version of Windows 10 for ARM might actually work well inside a virtual machine on an M1 Mac-running at more or less native speeds, just like the Intel version of Windows on Intel Macs.

So what happens with the M1? The major virtualization could run the Intel version of Windows in emulation, but anyone who remembers the bad days of Virtual PC on PowerPC will know that running an entire emulated system can be painfully slow.īut Microsoft also makes a version of Windows that runs on ARM processors, currently available only when preinstalled on a “Windows 10 on ARM” PC such as Microsoft’s own Surface Pro X. Even in a virtual machine, apps ran at near-native speeds. One of the great advantages of using Intel processors on the Mac is that Windows is also built for Intel processors. When Apple announced the M1 processor, it highlighted the possibility of virtualizing Linux but remained coy about Windows.

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