Apple’s new line of laptops and the Mac Mini with the new Apple M1 chip are being incredible well received by reviewers. Considering the fact that this is a major platform transition for Apple, going from x86 to ARM, these computers perform really well, partly thanks to the fast M1 chip, and to Rosetta 2. However, one drawback of the new M1 processor Macs is that Boot Camp support is gone. So if your workflow requires some Windows apps too, you can’t just boot up a copy of Windows on your Mac anymore.
Fortunately, things like CrossOver 20 exist, and Parallels has also announced that they will soon release their emulation software with support for M1. But it begs the question, why do the M1 Macs not have Boot Camp support? Turns out, it’s because Microsoft doesn’t allow its ARM version of Windows to be used on any device where it’s not pre-installed.
As for the M1 chip itself, it can apparently run ARM Windows without a hiccup, or at least that’s what Craig Federighi said in an interview with Ars Technica.
“We have the core technologies for them to do that, to run their ARM version of Windows, which in turn of course supports x86 user mode applications. But that’s a decision Microsoft has to make, to bring to license that technology for users to run on these Macs. But the Macs are certainly very capable of it.” he said
It remains to be seen whether Microsoft makes any changes in its licensing to allow ARM Windows to run on Apple M1 devices with Boot Camp.
