With macOS Sierra looming on the horizon — and already in public beta — it’s time for a new version of Parallels’ venerable Windows emulator for Macs. Optimized for macOS Sierra, Parallels Desktop 12 ($80) boosts performance for shared folders, and suspend, resume, and snapshot operations. Other new features include the ability to quickly capture Facebook or Vimeo videos, a distraction-free presentation mode for both Mac and Windows sessions, hiding desktop icons, keeping the screen awake, seamless Office 365 integration, Windows Server 2016 support, and more. Users also get 500GB of free online cloud backup storage from Acronis for one year.
The new version also allows Windows users to schedule Windows updates to run on a more controlled schedule, avoiding unnecessary notifications, and users with multiple displays will like the improved Retina display support, which adds smart resizing and independent screen resolutions. Windows apps and documents also now open up to three times faster — even if you’ve quit Parallels Desktop entirely, you can now archive and password-protect all of your files. In addition to the standard edition, a $100 Pro edition of the software is also available, adding support for developer tools like Visual Studio, Docker, Chef and Jenkins, advanced networking tools, and support for business cloud services.
