What you need to know
- Parallels for ChromeOS, which lets Chromebooks run Windows apps, might soon be shutting down.
- A new report highlights that there haven't been major updates for about 18 months, hinting at dwindling interest from Google.
- After a promising start, the project has been stagnant, with the last significant update in mid-2022 for lower-end Intel and AMD chipsets.
It seems Parallels for ChromeOS, the service that enables Chromebooks to run Windows apps, is on the verge of closing up shop.
As noted by Chrome Unboxed, there haven't been any major updates to Parallels on Chromebooks for about eighteen months. This points to a possible decrease in the company's interest in the project.
Once just a pipe dream, running Windows on a Chromebook became a reality in 2020 when Google teamed up with Parallels to bring both Android and Windows apps to Chromebooks.
For the uninitiated, Parallels Desktop is a virtualization software that allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single computer. Mac users often use it to run Windows applications on their Apple devices.
While the project had a strong start, it’s been stuck in a lull for quite some time. The latest noteworthy update came in mid-2022, when Parallels was improved to work with budget-friendly Intel and AMD chipsets.
The long stretch without updates, along with Google’s recent purchase of Cameyo, which mentioned bringing virtual Windows apps to ChromeOS as a key reason, foreshadowed a potential change in direction for the project.
With the limited focus and various challenges it's facing, it’s no shock that Parallels Desktop could be heading for the chopping block soon.
While Parallels-on-Chromebook provides a practical way to run legacy apps on ChromeOS, it comes with some ironic challenges. One major issue is that you need a high-performance Chromebook to make the virtual desktop work, which kind of goes against the budget-friendly appeal that Chromebooks are known for.
Rumor has it that Google has decided to shut down the Parallels-on-Chromebook initiative. Users can expect to get official word on this soon, with a formal announcement likely coming before the end of the year.
Additionally, it seems that Parallels for ChromeOS will also be phased out by year's end, although a specific date hasn’t been revealed yet.
