Apple's macOS 12 adds improved virtualization though no sign of anything like Boot Camp on M1 silicon
(2021/06/08)
- Reference: 1623138966
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/08/macos_12_virtio_virtualization/
- Source link:
Desktop virtualization is not the kind of thing that gets a mention in Apple’s big product announcements, and [1]today 's effort that revealed macOS 12 — code-named Monterey — was no exception. But sharp-eyed observers have spotted some changes that will make Macs, including those powered by Apple’s own Arm-compatible silicon, more adept at running guest operating systems.
Evidence of Apple’s additions can be found [2]here , in a brief mention of virtualization stating that macOS 12 supports the Virtio specification and can therefore create standard interfaces for many device types — including network, socket, serial port, storage, entropy, and memory-balloon devices.
Developer Zhuowei Zhang spotted some of the new features, and perhaps even an XKCD Easter Egg.
Also, cute XKCD reference at the end of the macOS 12 Virtualization.framework AVPBooter file.
( [3]https://t.co/oYAzJPoVb1 is the "chosen by fair dice roll" comic) [4]pic.twitter.com/jx2PRNaJro — Zhuowei Zhang (@zhuowei) [5]June 8, 2021
Another [6]new piece of documentation for macOS 12 details a class called VZMacOSBootLoader .
[7]India’s massive COVID-19 wave slows VMware desktop hypervisor development
[8]VMware is 'a few months away' from M1 release of Fusion macOS desktop hypervisor
[9]But can it run Avid? The Reg hands shiny new M1 MacBook to video production pro, who beats it with Blender, Handbrake, and ... Hypercard?
[10]VMware reveals critical hypervisor bugs found at Chinese white hat hacking comp. One lets guests run code on hosts
It appears that Apple has not created a direct replacement for Boot Camp, the tool that installs Windows alongside macOS on Intel-powered Macs.
Windows users who really want Microsoft’s flagship OS on an M1-powered Mac can use Parallels’ eponymous desktop hypervisor, and Microsoft’s free Windows 10 Arm Insider Preview release, to do the job.
[11]
VMware, however, has shown less enthusiasm for supporting Windows on Arm in a forthcoming M1-native release of its Fusion macOS desktop hypervisor. Virtzilla’s more than capable of making it work, but has noticed that the licence Microsoft uses for Windows on Arm specifies that it can only be installed on a machine with a Windows 10 licence. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/apple_2021_wwdc/
[2] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization
[3] https://t.co/oYAzJPoVb1
[4] https://t.co/jx2PRNaJro
[5] https://twitter.com/zhuowei/status/1402115064803610626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[6] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/vzmacosbootloader?language=objc
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/30/vmware_m1_fusion_india_delays/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/27/vmware_m1_fusion_release_months_away/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/22/m1_review/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/20/vmware_esxi_flaws/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YL8-wZudBFNz0BvVhwekmAAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Evidence of Apple’s additions can be found [2]here , in a brief mention of virtualization stating that macOS 12 supports the Virtio specification and can therefore create standard interfaces for many device types — including network, socket, serial port, storage, entropy, and memory-balloon devices.
Developer Zhuowei Zhang spotted some of the new features, and perhaps even an XKCD Easter Egg.
Also, cute XKCD reference at the end of the macOS 12 Virtualization.framework AVPBooter file.
( [3]https://t.co/oYAzJPoVb1 is the "chosen by fair dice roll" comic) [4]pic.twitter.com/jx2PRNaJro — Zhuowei Zhang (@zhuowei) [5]June 8, 2021
Another [6]new piece of documentation for macOS 12 details a class called VZMacOSBootLoader .
[7]India’s massive COVID-19 wave slows VMware desktop hypervisor development
[8]VMware is 'a few months away' from M1 release of Fusion macOS desktop hypervisor
[9]But can it run Avid? The Reg hands shiny new M1 MacBook to video production pro, who beats it with Blender, Handbrake, and ... Hypercard?
[10]VMware reveals critical hypervisor bugs found at Chinese white hat hacking comp. One lets guests run code on hosts
It appears that Apple has not created a direct replacement for Boot Camp, the tool that installs Windows alongside macOS on Intel-powered Macs.
Windows users who really want Microsoft’s flagship OS on an M1-powered Mac can use Parallels’ eponymous desktop hypervisor, and Microsoft’s free Windows 10 Arm Insider Preview release, to do the job.
[11]
VMware, however, has shown less enthusiasm for supporting Windows on Arm in a forthcoming M1-native release of its Fusion macOS desktop hypervisor. Virtzilla’s more than capable of making it work, but has noticed that the licence Microsoft uses for Windows on Arm specifies that it can only be installed on a machine with a Windows 10 licence. ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/08/apple_2021_wwdc/
[2] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization
[3] https://t.co/oYAzJPoVb1
[4] https://t.co/jx2PRNaJro
[5] https://twitter.com/zhuowei/status/1402115064803610626?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
[6] https://developer.apple.com/documentation/virtualization/vzmacosbootloader?language=objc
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/30/vmware_m1_fusion_india_delays/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/27/vmware_m1_fusion_release_months_away/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/04/22/m1_review/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/20/vmware_esxi_flaws/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/virtualization&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YL8-wZudBFNz0BvVhwekmAAAAMU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: No one needs Bootcamp anymore
Sammy Smalls
It will be interesting to see if there are any mainstream use cases for bootcamp, but I cant think of any off the top of my head.
I'm playing around with Parallels on an M1 with the Windows preview, and I've got to say that I'm impressed with the M1, Parallels and Windows on ARM. Not perfect, but pretty damned good. I've used it for demos and it worked just fine. I can also just leave it running and not even notice it's there.
My current challenge is to get COD4 running properly. It nearly does, and I've actually played a couple of games, but it's very flaky. It's actually got worse with the last couple of Windows updates... :(
No one needs Bootcamp anymore
Bootcamp was a nice gimmick when the first Intel Macs were released but has not really been necessary for at least five years: machines have got beefier and virtualisation has got better. In addition, Bootcamp on ARM would require a heap of new drivers for Apple's proprietary hardware. Much easier to improve virtualisation support, including Windows for ARM, when it becomes generally available.