Parallels Desktop 20 updates summary

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.2.0 (55872)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.2.0 (55872) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:

General

• Launches early technology preview for importing and running x86_64 virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs initially created on Intel Macs. Note that this feature:

  • is not available in the App Store and Standard editions;
  • comes with certain performance and functional limitations;

  To learn more about this functionality and its limitations, please refer to this KB article.

Windows

• Adds Apple Writing Tools as a right-click menu item to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook (classic) apps running in a Windows virtual machine;
• Fixes the issue that prevented Apple Writing Tools from launching correctly when the virtual machine is in Coherence mode;
• Fixes the issue that prevented the Tencent QQ from being installed on Windows 11 virtual machines;
• Fixes the issue that prevented batch resize and batch rename functions in ACDSee Photo Studio 2025 from working correctly;
• Fixes the issue of CTW Probe software displaying charts incorrectly when running on a Windows 11 virtual machine;
• Fixes the issue of Dropbox for Business not showing the entire contents of the parent folder when shared with a Windows 11 virtual machine.

Linux

• Fixes the issue that prevented the correct installation of Parallels Tools on CentOS Stream 9 virtual machines;
• Fixes the issue with adding a new virtual hard drive to an Ubuntu virtual machine;
• Fixes the hard link support on Ubuntu 24.04 virtual machines with shared folders.

macOS (as a virtual machine)

Note: Existing macOS virtual machines running on Apple silicon Macs will require a full restart to trigger the automatic update of Parallels Tools, which is required to enable the following improvements.

• Enables support for time zone sync between your Mac and macOS virtual machines. Please note that Parallels Tools must be installed for the functionality to work;
• Fixes the issue that prevented the copy and paste clipboard from functioning correctly between your Mac’s primary operating system and a macOS virtual machine after creating a snapshot of the latter;
• Fixes the issue of macOS virtual machines not displaying the contents of a shared folder on Intel Macs.

Parallels Desktop 20.2.0 for Mac Enterprise Edition

• Enables administrators to provision SSO as the activation method for Parallels Desktop for Mac end users in their organizations;
• Enables support for activating Parallels Desktop copies using MDM configuration profiles.

What will be Deprecated or Removed from Parallels Desktop soon

According to statistics from users who participate in the Parallels Customer Experience program, some product features are rarely used or not at all. We have decided to either stop supporting them or altogether remove them from Parallels Desktop and focus on frequently used features and further enhancements.

Below is a list of features that are no longer supported in Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.2.0 and newer versions and have been removed:

• Autopause for Linux virtual machines;
• Shared Linux applications on a Mac so that they won’t show up in your Spotlight app search results. You can still start your Linux apps directly on your Linux virtual machine.

Below is the list of features that are no longer supported and will be removed – not in version 20.2.0, but in the next major version of Parallels Desktop for Mac:

• Installing Parallels Desktop on Macs running macOS Monterey 12;
• Archiving a virtual machine. Prepare for Transfer will be the new default method to save space and transfer a virtual machine;
• Setting CPU, disk I/O, and network quotas and extended memory limits manually;
• Deferred activation;
• Travel mode;
• Free Up Disk Space option. You will still be able to save space using other options;
• Designating a custom update server in the deployment package settings;
• Synchronization of virtual machine color tags between the Parallels Desktop Control Center and macOS Finder;
• Support for “Require Password to…” settings in the Security tab of the virtual machine settings. We recommend organizations that rely on this functionality use the Policies menu in the Parallels Management Portal available in Parallels Desktop for Mac Enterprise Edition;
• Converting/cloning to a template. We recommend using the Clone menu option;
• The option to install Parallels Toolbox for Windows in a Windows virtual machine using the Parallels Desktop menu.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.1.3 (55743)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.1.3 (55743) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:

• Fixes the issue that prevented various Linux distros from installing and running correctly on Macs with M4 chips.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.1.2 (55742)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.1.2 (55742) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:

• Fixes the issue that caused slow scrolling in Windows 11 24H2 virtual machines. Update Parallels Tools to get the issue addressed.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.1.1 (55740)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.1.1 (55740) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:

• Fixes the issue that led to Parallels Desktop crashing when attempting to use Apple Writing Tools in Windows;
• Fixes the virtual machine memory leak issue;
• Resolves the issue that prevented Parallels Desktop from launching on Macs with Kaspersky Anti-Virus installed and configured in a certain way.

What will be Deprecated or Removed from Parallels Desktop soon

According to the statistics from the users who participate in the Parallels Customer Experience program, some product features are used very seldom or not at all. We have decided to either stop supporting them or completely remove them from Parallels Desktop and focus on frequently used features and further enhancements.

Below is the list of features that are no longer supported and will be removed – not in version 20.1.1, but in the next version of Parallels Desktop for Mac.

On all Mac computers, the following functionality is no longer supported:

• Shared applications for Linux virtual machines. If you want to keep using this functionality, you can keep using Parallels Desktop 20.1.1 or earlier versions of the product.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.1.0 (55732)

Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.1.0 (55732) update addresses the overall stability and security issues and includes the following additions and improvements:

General

• Fixes the issue that resulted in ISO installation images built for Arm architecture erroneously designated as incompatible during the VM setup process;
• Introduces Enterprise Edition and the accompanying Management Portal (available a week after the release of this version).

Windows

• Adds support for using macOS Sequoia 15's Writing Tools in Windows apps like MS Word, PowerPoint, etc. 
  Note: This feature is supported on Macs with macOS 15.1 and newer. Apple Intelligence must be enabled. To use the feature, copy some text in a Windows app and either press Shift+Command+W shortcut or choose Edit > Writing Tools on Mac menubar;
• Adds support for Windows Server 2025 virtual machines for Arm and x86-64 (when released);
• Fixes the issue that prevented links and attachments in Microsoft Outlook (classic) from being opened with certain apps on Apple Silicon Macs (e.g., Safari or Preview) when those are configured as default apps from inside a Windows 11 machine;
• Fixes the issue that unexpectedly prompted users for username and password on a newly installed Windows 11 virtual machine;
• Fixes the issue that prevented Windows 10 virtual machines from booting with nested virtualization enabled;
• Fixes the issue that prevented Windows 11 22H2 machines from launching shared host apps with Smart App Control enabled;
• Fixes the issue that prevented Visual Studio 2022 on a Windows 11 virtual machine from establishing an SSH connection using the "Pair to Mac" option;
• Fixes the issue that led to L8 software not displaying objects and showing insufficient video memory errors on Windows 11.

Linux

• Fixes the issue of x86 apps failing to start in a Ubuntu Linux with Rosetta appliance on Apple Silicon Macs running macOS Sequoia 15;
• Adds ready-to-use appliances with the latest versions of popular Linux distros, including Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 40, Debian 12.6, and Kali 2024.2.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.0.1 (55659)

This update for Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.0.1 (55659) addresses overall stability and performance issues.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac 20.0.0 (55653)

The new major Parallels Desktop version 20.0.0 (55653) delivers the following improvements:

All editions of Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac

Ready for macOS Sequoia 15

Parallels Desktop 20 supports the upcoming macOS Sequoia 15 as a primary OS on Mac and as a virtual machine, so you can upgrade your Mac computers once the new operating system becomes available.

Look and Feel

• Brings significant improvements in the reliability and usability of Parallels Tools, which have been reworked using native UI in all supported operating systems: Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Windows on Mac

• Adds support for Windows 11 24H2 once it becomes available. Based on our testing, Windows 11 version 24H2 improves the stability and speed of running x86-based apps in Windows on Arm, making many important Windows apps feasible on Apple Silicon Macs;
• Fixes the dynamic resolution issues when running a Windows 11 24H2 virtual machine in a windowed mode;
• Improves the safety of the Windows file deletion process by sending files deleted from shared folders to macOS Trash instead of permanently deleting them;
• Fixes the wireframe rendering issue in the Rhino 8 app on Apple Silicon Macs;
• Fixes the issue of Houdini 20 modeling software displaying graphical glitches and missing parts of modelled objects;
• Improves compatibility with numerous Windows apps, including ArcGIS Pro, LabVIEW, Ninja Trader, and many more;
• Mitigates the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) compatibility issues for Windows 11 machines running on Apple Silicon Macs by defaulting to WSL 1 instead of WSL 2.

Linux on Mac

• Adds support for newer Linux distributions, such as Fedora 39/40, Kali 2024.2, and Ubuntu 24.04;
• Resolves the issue which prevented Ubuntu 24.04 installation on Intel Macs;
• Adopts the high-level FUSE API for the Parallels Tools to eliminate multiple compatibility issues with newer Linux kernel versions;
• Adds support for IPP printing from Linux virtual machines, enabling you to print from Linux using a printer connected to your Mac;
• Adds updated icons for Ubuntu, Fedora, and Kali Linux distributions;
• Fixes the issue with keyboard and mouse not working during the manual installation of an Ubuntu virtual machine.

macOS (in a virtual machine)

• Allows you to sign into Apple Account from macOS 15+ virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs (requires both your Mac and the virtual machine to run macOS Sequoia 15 or newer).
  Note: This feature does not yet let you sign into the Mac App Store or Xcode;
• Adds support for creating snapshots of macOS virtual machines on Apple Silicon Macs.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Pro Edition

• Introduces Parallels AI Package, a Linux-based virtual machine tailor-made to allow developers and students to quickly learn and begin developing machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and computer vision applications. The package is available via the Visual Studio Code extension catalog. Read more about AI Package here;
• Adds the ability to control virtual machines using natural language with Microsoft Copilot integrated into the Visual Studio Code extension;
• Adds support for using GitHub Actions to automate the deployment and management of virtual machines directly from a GitHub repository, e.g., triggering a virtual machine provisioning, testing, and configuration as part of a specific pipeline;
• Improves the Parallels Packer plugin experience for macOS virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs by automating the initial setup process using the Apple Vision framework (OCR).

Software developers and IT pros using Parallels Desktop are welcome to share their feedback about these improvements, discuss feature suggestions, and have fun with like-minded people at Parallels Desktop Discord channel.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Business Edition

• Adds the ability to control and orchestrate multiple Parallels Desktop hosts and virtual machines using our new Parallels Desktop for DevOps service;
• Improves compatibility with multiple MDM solutions (e.g., Microsoft Intune) thanks to a re-engineered deployment package that supports downloading pre-configured virtual machines from cloud-sourced and network storage destinations.

Parallels Desktop 20 for Mac Enterprise Edition (coming later in 2024)

Introducing the new tier: Enterprise Edition, coming later this fall. This edition is designed specifically for organizations that require more control, visibility, and efficiency in managing large-scale virtual environments. Enterprise Edition will: 

• Streamline the deployment of virtual machines, saving time and effort;
• Let you assign policies across groups of machines or users;
• Enable improved visibility into your managed virtual machines.

If your company is interested in this solution, please contact our sales team here.

What was deprecated or removed from Parallels Desktop 20

According to the statistics from the users who participate in the Parallels Customer Experience program, some product features are used very seldom or not at all. We have decided to either stop supporting them or completely remove them from Parallels Desktop and focus on frequently used features and further enhancements.

Below is the list of features that are no longer supported and will be removed in the future builds of Parallels Desktop for Mac 20.

On all Mac computers, the following things are no longer supported:

• Network boot for Windows, macOS, and Linux virtual machines

On Mac computers with Intel processors, the following things are no longer supported:

• Support for network and USB emulation that relies on kernel extensions
• Support for macOS 10.5 to 10.8 and Oracle Solaris virtual machines

Release Dates

Version	Release Date
20.0.0 (55653)	September 10, 2024
20.0.1 (55659)
20.1.0 (55732)	October 7, 2024
20.1.1 (55740)	October 24, 2024
20.1.2 (55742)	November 28, 2024
20.1.3 (55743)	December 19, 2024
20.2.0 (55872)	January 9, 2025