Parallels 6 to run 40% faster, launch Windows 2x faster than Fusion
The new Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac has been shown on average to run 40 percent faster than last year's edition, according to people familiar with the matter. Those same people said that the upgrade — expected to retail for the same $79.99 price as its predecessor — will also feature Windows boot times that are roughly two times faster than version 3.1 of its primary competitor: VMWare Fusion.
VMware and Parallels have gone head to head in the virtualization market since 2008, when the Fusion product was first introduced. Parallels has existed since 2006, and both products retail for an identical prices. In a recent study, Parallels 5 was already found to be 30 percent faster on average than VMware Fusion 3.
Parallels 6 is also expected to showcase tighter integration with its users' natural environment, adopting support for the Mac OS X's keyboard shortcuts, Spotlight search engine, and Expose windows management features. Similarly, the upgrade will offer the option to automatically apply a Mac's parental controls to their corresponding Windows applications, according to those familiar with the product.
Another major focus for Parallels is said to be gaming. Version 6.0 will reportedly deliver up to two-fold performance improvements while adding support for Dolby 5.1 surround sound and better handling of 3G environments.
Parallels 6 will sport compatibility with an enhanced Parallels Mobile application that will offer users the option of remotely accessing their virtual machines on an iPad, as well as an iPhone or iPod touch.
Parallels Transporter, previously a standalone application that allowed users to migrate a virtual PC image to the Mac, will come built into the new release as well.
Earlier this week, Parallels Desktop 6 was spotted on the shelves of a Fry's Electronics store in California. The product has not yet been formally announced.
52 Comments
I don't know about others, but I want *less* integration with the Mac side. I don't like programs that run 50 different daemons and hook their tentacles in to every aspect of my computer from the kernel to the filesystem to the USB ports.
The most urgent missing feature from these emulators IMHO is DX11 support so the latest games can be run.
Autocad is soon on mac I dont think I will need windows on my mac. I have tried ti use fusion before but it was too slow. I have friends who are accountants using sage etc. and still need windows I will let them know.
parallels > vmware
Not a big deal. No plans to switch from Fusion. I don't use the windows side very often, if at all.
I've owned every version of Parallels and I am really disappointed with v.5. It runs like crap on my i7 MacBook Pro.
Every version they ask for another $50 and say it's going to make gaming awesome. I'd like it to be able to handle such graphically-intensive tasks as opening the start menu without lagging.
I have "only" 4GB of RAM, which is looks to me could help if it was improved, but 8GB is still more than I can afford right now. I don't think just running Windows with no apps open on either OS should be so slow with the machine I've got.
I have two questions about VMWare for people who are familiar with the current versions of both: is performance noticeably better, and do they charge as much for yearly upgrades?