Parallels is introducing the latest update to Parallels Desktop this week. Parallels Desktop 15 is being released today with new features, with another update expected later that will introduce new macOS Catalina features.

Parallels Desktop, for those unfamiliar, is an app that allows Mac users to run Windows seamlessly on their Apple computer.

With Parallels Desktop 15, the company is introducing DirectX 11 support. The app now uses Apple’s improved Metal API to enable DirectX 11 support, allowing users to run games like Fallout, Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, and FIFA 19 on Windows, as well as 3D graphics apps like Autodesk 3ds Max 2020 and Lumion.

The update also adds Bluetooth Low Energy support, meaning you can now use things like your Xbox controller wirelessly to play games on Windows easily. It also allows users to now drag and drop images directly from their macOS environment to the Windows environment, so you can take a screenshot on your Mac and simply drag it over to Windows right from the screenshot preview.

Parallels Desktop 15 is focused on some new macOS Catalina features, too. It introduces improved support for Apple Sidecar and Apple Pencil, so you can use your Apple Pencil on Windows apps like CorelDRAW and Microsoft SketchPad by extending the Windows environment from your Mac to your iPad. Prallels is also planning to add support for Apple’s new “Sign in with Apple” feature later this year.

There are some performance gains being introduced too, with Parallels claiming an 80% gain in the startup time for Microsoft’s Office apps and 15% faster performance for 3D graphics.

You can find the full list of new features here, and get Parallels Desktop 15 from here.

Tagged with Parallels, Parallels Desktop 15