Parallels for Mac has a new version, but no huge reason to upgrade

Like clockwork, Parallels releases a new version of its desktop virtualization software for Mac computers every year. The new versions often coincide with major new Windows and Mac operating systems, requiring major software changes to bring new Windows features to Apple computers or to make sure everything keeps working properly.

Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac is thus being announced today, but there isn't much to be excited about. While Parallels can run just about any operating system in a virtual machine, its primary purpose is letting Mac users run Windows applications. For that use case, last year's Parallels Desktop 11 release is still good enough.

There was an obvious reason to upgrade to Parallels 11 last year for people who wanted to run Windows 10 on a Mac. That's because Parallels 11 was the only version to support Windows 10 in Coherence Mode, which lets Windows applications run on a Mac in their own windows and integrate with the Mac's Notification Center. Without Coherence Mode, Windows applications are all contained in a single window that displays Microsoft's whole operating system.

Today, the year-old Parallels Desktop 11 still fully supports Windows 10, even after the Anniversary Update recently pushed out by Microsoft. I've been running the Anniversary Update in Parallels 11, and it hasn't broken Coherence Mode. By contrast, the upgrade from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 totally broke Coherence Mode in Parallels 10 last year, and Parallels decided not to update the then-year-old version of its software to fix it.

So why pay for an upgrade to Parallels 12? After reviewing the announcement materials and interviewing Parallels executives about the new release, I get the feeling that even they're struggling to offer a good reason.

Besides the annual speed improvements for tasks like creating snapshots and suspending virtual machines, the first features mentioned in Parallels' announcement today won't make your virtual machines run any better. The press release and presentation for reporters gave top billing to a new "Parallels Toolbox for Mac" application that makes it easier to perform some basic tasks that aren't related to virtualization. The toolbox provides a drop-down menu from the Mac's menu bar that lets you take screenshots, record audio, download videos from YouTube and Facebook, and prevent your Mac from sleeping, among other things.

Parallels Toolbox is a totally separate product that is being sold separately for $10 a year, but it will also come with Parallels Desktop 12.

What it costs and when it's available

Before we get into other features, here's a look at pricing and availability. A single-computer Parallels Desktop 12 license will cost $79.99, while upgrades from versions 10 or 11 cost $49.99. There's also subscription pricing available for the Pro Edition. The subscription is $99.99 a year for new customers, but only $49.99 a year for customers with a Parallels 10 or 11 perpetual license.

If you have a subscription, you automatically get access to new versions, in which case you might as well check out Parallels 12. The Pro Edition subscription also comes with Parallels Access, a remote desktop service that normally costs $20 a year.

If you care about Parallels Toolbox, it's best to get it either as part of a Parallels Desktop subscription or with the $10-per-year standalone subscription. The version of Toolbox that comes with perpetual Parallels Desktop licenses will not get any updates, while the subscription version will get new features from time to time, the company told us.

Parallels 12 will be available today for subscribers and upgraders at this link and is scheduled to be available to anyone beginning August 23.

Customers who go several years between Parallels upgrades should note that Parallels Desktop 9, the version that came out in August 2013, will stop working when Macs are upgraded to macOS Sierra. Parallels notified customers of the change in a recent e-mail, adding that they can purchase an upgrade to Parallels Desktop 11 and then get an upgrade to version 12 at no additional charge.

Sierra has "increased security requirements" that "prohibit" installation of Parallels Desktop 9 and earlier versions, a Parallels spokesperson told us. Parallels 10 and 11 will work normally and be able to run virtual machines on Sierra.

Version 12 improvements

Parallels Desktop 12 will come with a one-year subscription to the Acronis True Image backup service (normally $30). Mac users can already back up virtual machines with Parallels' built-in backup feature or Apple's Time Machine. But the Acronis subscription provides 500GB of online storage and an incremental backup system that uses less disk space than Parallels or Time Machine, Parallels told us. (Parallels 11 offered only a 30-day Acronis trial.)

Gaming performance will be improved, with support specifically for Blizzard's Overwatch game, Parallels said. Parallels will also offer the ability to schedule Windows updates to avoid disruptions at busy times, though a similar feature already exists within Windows itself.

In the professional edition for developers, Parallels is making it easier to apply network profiles that limit bandwidth and add packet loss or delays, useful for simulating how applications run on poor connections. It's already possible to do this in version 11, but you have to set the bandwidth and packet loss levels yourself instead of choosing from profiles such as "100% loss," "3G," "DSL," or "Very Bad Network."

The professional version of Parallels 12 will also make it easier to limit resource consumption of virtual machines, for when you want to run tasks in a bunch of virtual machines at once.

It's sometimes hard to tell what's actually new in each release of Parallels, because the company's announcements and presentations for reporters often present old features as if they were additions to the new version. This year, Parallels touted the ability to buy Windows from within Parallels, a feature that's already in the current version. Parallels also boasted of bringing Cortana to the Mac in version 12, though this was already done in version 11.

Other features mentioned in the Parallels 12 announcement include:

• Get support for Windows 10 Xbox app, for streaming and playing all Xbox games on a Mac.
• Control storage space used by VMs directly from the Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra.
• Store Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer passwords in Mac Keychain.
• Assign special behaviors to Windows apps, such as Always Open Full Screen or Always Hide 
Other Apps, so they play even better on your Mac.
• Easily cancel time-consuming VM actions.
• Open documents from SharePoint and Office 365 in Microsoft Office for Windows desktop 
applications directly from your favorite Mac browser.
• Keep Windows ready in the background, instead of suspending the VM, to instantly open Windows applications and documents.
• Outlook for Windows now features your recently accessed documents, both Mac and Windows, so they are conveniently available to select when you add attachments to your e-mails.
• Improved Retina support for resizing Windows VMs.
• Archive VMs to save space in the Pro Edition.
• Up to 90 percent faster Snapshot creation.
• Up to 60 percent faster suspend of VMs.
• Up to 25 percent faster Shared Folders performance.
• Compile Visual Studio projects on shared folders up to 25 percent faster.
• Up to 10 percent battery life improvement for certain environments.
• Improved VM responsiveness when your Mac is low on free memory.

Whither VMware Fusion?

VMware usually releases a new version of Fusion for Mac around the same time as Parallels offers its own upgrades. We asked VMware this week if it has another release soon but haven't heard back. The future of VMware's desktop virtualization products has been unclear since major layoffs hit VMware's Fusion and Workstation teams in January.