Using Windows 11 on an Apple Silicon Mac has recently been possible with Microsoft’s consent. In a previous article, we conducted the test by installing the ARM version of Windows 11 with Parallels Desktop. But it is not the only virtualization application on Mac. vmware assure that Fusion 13 supports Windows 11 on Apple Silicon machines.
Except that Fusion 13 does not allow a satisfactory experience, which explains why this second part is much shorter than the first. Parallels shows the possibilities, VMware shows the limits.
A very complicated installation
Before you start, you will need several things, starting with the version Apple Silicon de VMware Fusion 13, free for personal, non-commercial use. If you have a (free) account you should be able to register and get a serial number at this page.
You’ll also need the ARM Windows 11 version. It’s a little weird, but the easiest way to download it is to use… the demo version of Parallels Desktop ! Launching an installation will trigger the download of the installation image, which you can retrieve from the folder ~/Téléchargements for use with Fusion. Finally, if you want to try more than a Windows 11 trial, you’ll need a Windows 11 Pro license, which is worth less than 200 €.
In VMware Fusion, choose the menu File > NewThen Install from disk or imageand select the Windows 11 image. In the next window, check UEFI Secure Boot.
The next window, partially in English, just requires you to choose a password, which obviously must not be lost. Finally, you can adapt the settings of the virtual machine according to your needs, knowing that the default parameters are a little weak. We recommend four CPU cores and 6-8 GB of memory if you have a Mac with 16 GB.