Parallels Desktop Review on a MacBook Pro M3 Max
January 10, 2024

Parallels Desktop Review on a MacBook Pro M3 Max

Kris Giorgetti | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro Edition

Overall Satisfaction with Parallels Desktop

I use Parallels to run various operating systems on my MacBook Pro. This includes Windows, Windows Server, Linux, and more. There are many programs only written for Windows such as MS Project which works well as I recently had a project plan with over 12,000 lines in it for a major construction effort and MS Project worked as well on my Parallels enabled MacBook Pro M3 as on other native Windows systems. You can also use applications written for Linux that can help with DevOps use cases and helped with some MLOps use cases.

Pros

  • Fast Windows Emulation
  • Multiple OS Support
  • Parallels Tools with many useful apps
  • Ability to unify MacOS and Windows

Cons

  • The ability to do snapshots, backups, and other types of branching for VMs is a little confusing and takes a bit to get used to
  • The Parallels tools frequently pop up windows advertising functionality, while this is helpful at times it can also happen when you are doing a presentation or typing in a password.
  • Careful using the VMs on a shared cloud drive such as Dropbox or OneDrive, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of files which are updated when running a VM and this can clog up your Dropbox or OneDrive sync for minutes to hours even on a 2gb connection.
  • Saves money on having to buy a Windows and MacBook, as the MacBook can run almost 99% of all Windows software and usually run it faster and share between your MacBook transparently.
  • Gives employers the most flexibility with regards to which OS to adopt across an enterprise
  • We are a media company and everyone uses Macs in our industry, Fortune 500 companies also use Windows and MS Project, Parallels gives you the most flexibility for almost all of these use cases
  • Improves efficiency as the MacBook Pro M3 systems are much faster than some of the fastest corporate issued Windows laptops. What takes me 3-10 seconds for a video export can take 5 minutes on a similar Windows laptop
Parallels makes running other operating systems on your Mac user friendly and not have the hassle of some of the server use cases. VMware is the closest competitor I use occationally but for the most part Parallels is what I use for the majority of the time.

Do you think Parallels Desktop for Mac delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Parallels Desktop for Mac's feature set?

Yes

Did Parallels Desktop for Mac live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Parallels Desktop for Mac go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Parallels Desktop for Mac again?

Yes

ChatGPT, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chrome, Safari, Adobe Premiere Pro, Canva, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Serverless Cloud, Google Cloud CLI, Azure DevOps Services, Apple Health, Apple iCloud, Apple Pay
Parallels works well for everyday Windows or alternative OS usage on a Mac. Most applications run flawlessly, multi-monitor works, audio/video, games, etc. When in full screen mode, many people cannot tell my MacBook Pro M3 is a Mac as Windows 11 runs so fast and in full screen you can't tell a difference unless you know what to look for. I use Outlook, Word, Excel, etc. and these apps run faster on my MacBook than on the latest Windows laptops provisioned by work!

Parallels does not work well for some legacy and older applications which may require specific hardware or software drivers. There are only a handful of these apps I have found, dating back 10-15 years old. Newer versions are available of most software which run flawlessly.

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