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Parallels launched Desktop 11 for Mac, a new version of Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac Pro Edition, its software for developers, designers and power users.
It includes Parallels Desktop for Mac Business Edition, previously known as the Enterprise Edition.
Desktop 11 allows Mac users to run Windows 10 and leverage the advantages of Microsoft’s intelligent personal assistant, Cortana, when using both Windows and OS X.
This is the first time that Desktop has ever made a Windows feature available for OS X applications.
Desktop 11 also provides experimental support for OS X El Capitan prior to its launch, and will support the platform shortly after its release to give users a seamless experience with the latest operating systems.
“With Siri yet to be featured on a Mac, Parallels saw the opportunity to bring an intelligent virtual personal assistant to the Mac to provide an improved and more efficient user experience,” John Uppendahl vice president of communications for Parallels, told eWEEK. “Parallels also made OS X location data available in real time to Windows applications, including Cortana, so they can provide more useful answers.”
Uppendahl noted concierge technologies already are helping people improve efficiencies in the ways they work every day, and he expects this trend to continue.
“In the meantime, as we continue to pioneer seamless integration of such technologies into our products, we are pleased to be able to give Mac users the benefits of applications such as Cortana in their OS X environments for the best-possible user experience,” he said.
As a special bonus to Parallels Desktop 9 and 10 customers, for $49.99 they have the choice of upgrading to Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac (perpetual license) or Parallels Desktop 11 for Mac Pro Edition.
If they choose the Pro Edition, as long as they renew their annual subscription they get the $49.99 a year rate for the rest of their life.
“Parallels believes that not only developers and power users, but everyday consumers will benefit from a Pro Edition subscription because it simply makes sure they are always current with new available features they need without having to think about it,” Uppendahl said. “The Pro Edition has the same familiar Parallels Desktop UI and they don’t have to use its power features unless they want to.”
Desktop 11 ease-of-use benefits include improved performance and battery life with the use of Travel Mode, which can easily be activated to optimize performance.
When users are on the go and not connected to power, Travel Mode will automatically extend battery life by up to 25 percent by temporarily shutting off resources that drain power.
Desktop for Mac editions also enable customers to directly access their Boot Camp Windows partition without rebooting.
“This and Desktop for Mac’s solutions are more important than ever because new Macs now only support Windows 10 and Windows 8.1 in Boot Camp,” Uppendahl noted.