Apps
Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS now supports AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 CPUs
Today Parallels announced that it is expanding its Chrome OS support to AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 processors. This support comes after launching Parallels Desktop for Chrome Enterprise devices last year. As a part of this update Parallels added Camera and Microphone redirection and USB support enables Smart Cards and Flash Drives on Chrome Enterprise devices. As part of this new update, Parallels calls out that the app is now called Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS, which was formally known as Parallels Desktop for Chrome Enterprise.
Key Background
Parallels now supports both “AMD and Intel processors, as well as 12 new Chromebook and Chromebox devices from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Enterprise and education organizations now have 21 supported Chrome Enterprise device options that can run full-featured Windows apps in Parallels Desktop, both online and offline,” said Parallels. “Employees, staff and students located anywhere can seamlessly run Zoom, Cisco Webex and GoToMeeting Windows apps in Parallels Desktop to enjoy full-featured video conferencing on their Chrome OS devices.
How will it work?
Access to business-critical Windows apps
- Switch between Chrome OS and Windows, on demand
- Suspend and Resume Windows
- Open files from Chrome OS on Windows applications
Work that’s ready whenever, wherever
- Access Windows files and make custom folders accessible from Chrome OS Files
- No internet? No problem! Files and apps are fully accessible both online and offline
Full Chrome OS integration for a familiar & friendly experience
- Migrate content between Chrome OS and Windows via shared clipboard
- Print from Windows to supported printers
- Stay in the flow with seamless mouse, camera, microphone, audio & docking plus USB smart card reader support
- Dynamic resolution and full screen support
Platform Choice
Chrome OS being able to run Windows apps frees Chromebook users from the tightly controlled Google app eco-system and opens them up to the vast Windows eco-system. Now Chromebook users can choose another web browser, they can choose creative applications like Affinity’s Photo, Designer and Publisher, along with many more apps that Chromebook users simply haven’t had access to before.
So, if Parallels enables you to you Windows on macOS and Windows on Chrome OS, can you use macOS and Chrome OS on Windows? the answer unfortunately is no. Both macOS and Chrome OS are closed operating systems, in different ways but the fact remains you cannot simply install macOS or Chrome OS on a PC. macOS can only run on Apple made hardware and Chrome OS can only run on Google-certified hardware, whereas Windows can run on anything. If you want to dabble in other operating systems, you can always install VirtualBox and run alternative operating systems in a virtual machine.
This move by Parallels is a positive step in the right direction even if it is said to just be for Chrome Enterprise at the moment.
Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS update notes
Enterprise and its employees need to easily run full-featured Windows applications online and offline, then Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS is definitely the way to go―it’s secure, cost-effective, easy to install, and user friendly.”
Education
“We chose Chromebooks as the most cost-effective devices for our school but many teachers needed SMART Notebook, a legacy Windows application for creating dynamic lessons, and preferred to work with full-featured Windows apps rather than the feature-limited online versions,” said John Byron, IT manager of Wheelers Lane Primary School, United Kingdom. “Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS enabled our teachers to easily run the full-featured Widows apps they need on their Chromebooks. Within a week and a few working hours, our Chromebooks were equipped with Parallels’ software which was so simple that no training was needed to use it.”
Healthcare
“We chose Chromebooks for our employees who travel frequently throughout the 5,300 square miles of Washington’s Okanogan County—the largest county in the United States―to support primary medical, dental, orthodontic care, and pharmacies that serve 40 percent of the population,” said Mike Ellis, Chief Information Officer of Family Health Centers. “The need to run full-featured Windows applications on our Chromebooks is sometimes inevitable—like when Washington state provides us Microsoft Word documents, or when we need to securely work with medical records in Athena Healthcare systems. Solutions we tried from the largest service provider companies were complex, became very expensive, and failed to work well. Fortunately, Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS provided us massive cost savings and enabled our employees to easily run the full-featured Windows apps they need on their Chromebooks―both online and offline.”
New Supported Features in Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS
New Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS camera and microphone redirection enable Chrome OS Enterprise device users to run popular Windows desktop versions of video conferencing apps so they can enjoy key features that are not available in the web app versions.
- Zoom: Whiteboard, annotate, advanced chat, and remote-control features are only available in its Windows desktop app.1
- Cisco Webex: Whiteboard, end-to-end encryption, and remote-control features are only available in its Windows desktop app.2
- GoToMeeting: Drawing tools, whiteboard, and always-on control panel are only available in the Windows desktop app.3
USB support has been added to Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS to enable popular USB devices to work in Windows virtual machines, including Smart cards and flash drives. Additional features are available online on the Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS product page at parallels.com/chrome.
Availability, Free Trial, and Pricing
Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS is available today for $69.99 USD annually per user. Product details, including a free full-featured one-month trial with five user licenses, are available online at parallels.com/chrome.
System Requirements
Recommended hardware:
- Minimum (to run one or two simple Windows applications)
- Processor:
- Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7
- AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7
- Memory: 8GB or more
- Storage: 128 GB SSD or more
- Processor:
- Best Performance (for active multitasking and resource-intensive Windows applications):
- Processor:
- Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 + fan cooling
- AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 + fan cooling
- Memory: 16GB or more
- Storage: 256 GB SSD or more
- Processor:
- To provide full-featured Windows applications to users of lower-spec devices consider Parallels Remote Application Server (parallels.com/ras).
Supported devices:
New Parallels Desktop for Chrome OS supported Chromebook and Chromebox Chrome Enterprise devices below are noted with asterisks (*) before their names:
HP:
- HP Elite c1030 Chromebook, Intel
- HP Pro c640 Chromebook, Intel
- *HP Pro c645 Chromebook, AMD
- HP Chromebox G3, Intel
Lenovo:
- *Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook, AMD
- Lenovo Yoga C630 Chromebook, Intel
Google:
- Google Pixelbook, Intel
- Google Pixelbook Go, Intel
Acer:
- Acer Chromebook Spin 713, Intel
- Acer Chromebook Spin 13, Intel
- *Acer Chromebook Spin 514, AMD
- *Acer Chromebook 714, Intel
- *Acer Chromebook 715, Intel
- *Acer Chromebox CXI4, Intel
Dell:
- *Dell Latitude 5300 2-in-1 Chromebook, Intel
- *Dell Latitude 5400 Chromebook, Intel
- *Dell Latitude 7410 Chromebook, Intel
ASUS:
- ASUS Chromebook Flip C436FA, Intel
- *ASUS Chromebook Flip CM5, Intel
- *ASUS Fanless Chromebox, Intel
- *ASUS Chromebox 4, Intel
- Windows 10 license: Microsoft Windows image and Windows license are required.
- Google Admin console: IT administrators can manage Chromebook and Chromebox devices that are covered by Chrome Enterprise or Education Upgrade.
- Corporate Storage Server: To deploy a Windows virtual machine image on user devices, you need a corporate storage server from where the image can be downloaded to individual Chrome Enterprise devices in your organization via HTTP or HTTPS. CDN is recommended for very large deployments.
