Parallels Desktop 26.2.1 macOS

P2P | 02 February 2026 | 238MB

Parallels Desktop is one of the oldest and most popular applications for virtualization on macOS. There are quite a few options out there for Mac users who want to run other operating systems on their Apple devices, but none are quite as intuitive and novice-friendly as Parallels. This app allows you to Run Windows, various flavors of Linux, ChromeOS, Android, and many other operating systems in virtual machines, and it makes setting up and configuring these VMs incredibly straightforward. Much of the process is automated, and the virtualized OSes integrate well with macOS. It really is that simple. Compared to alternatives like VirtualBox or VMware, it is much easier to create a virtual machine and install an OS. For instance, if you want a Windows 11 VM, the startup wizard guides you through the entire process. It only takes a few clicks and absolutely no technical knowledge. If you skip the initial Win10 wizard, Parallels still has an installation assistant that can help you set up Windows, Linux, and many other operating systems. The Windows 10 Test and Development environments are available for free, as are numerous Linux flavors and Android, and you can even install macOS from the recovery partition or convert a Boot Camp installation to a VM.