This week, VMware made the Fusion 22H2 Tech Preview available to Mac users.
As Parallels Desktop for Mac did last year, this free public release now supports Windows 11 on both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. Additionally, the Linux support for Apple Silicon Macs is enhanced by this VMware Fusion Tech Preview.
We’re excited to be able to share the work we’ve been doing to prepare support for Windows 11 virtual machines on Fusion, for both Intel and Apple silicon Macs, even if it’s still a little early and things on Apple silicon don’t always behave the way we’re used to on Intel. While they were created with Windows 11 in mind, the tools may be used for other VMs as well, according to Michael Roy, Product Line Manager at VMware. With Fusion, Microsoft brought Windows 11 to the Mac desktop.
VMware has updated its virtual TPM 2.0 module by adding support for a “rapid encryption” mode to meet the minimum Windows 11 requirements. By simply encrypting the files required to implement a TPM, Fast Encryption can enhance VM performance. Additionally, the local keychain can now be used by VMware’s virtual TPM 2.0 module to automatically generate a password for the user.
In addition to graphics improvements, the 22H2 version to the VMware Fusion Tech Preview adds 2D graphics drivers for Windows on ARM virtual machines. Users of Macs will have the option to change display options and run their virtual machines at 4K and greater resolutions. The Mesa SVGA graphics driver now adds support for OpenGL 4.3 + GLES 3.1 and 3D hardware acceleration for Linux virtual machines.
Before you begin using this VMware Fusion 22H2 Tech Preview, be aware that x86 64 virtual machines cannot be run on M1 Macs. Additionally, it cannot be used to build macOS virtual machines, however, the team is looking into this.