I am looking for advice from other designers and Articulate staff-
My company's lease for our equipment is coming to an end and we will need to purchase new equipment for the new year. I currently design and use Articulate on my MacBook Pro using parallels, but the new MacBooks will have a chip that don't support parallels.
I'm wondering if anyone else is needing to prepare for this, and if Articulate has any advice? Or are there plans to release a Mac version of the Articulate products?
The problem is that Parallels and other software hasn't really laid out a plan for release date, and since we are in a bit of time crunch, I was hoping for some more input from other IDs/Articulate on what they might do in this situation--especially since I know a lot of Articulate employees actually use Macs themselves. I do wonder why Articulate seems to be hesitant and also kind of secretive as to why they aren't working on a Mac version. Thank you for the resource, though!
Thanks for reaching out! While we don't have any plans to release a Mac version of Storyline 360, I can provide some information around Parallels and the new Apple products.
Currently, Parallels is working on getting a version of their software up and running on the new Apple M1 Silicon chip.
We haven't received many questions around these, yet Apple has not replaced the entire MacBook lineup with the new chips. The MacBook Pro 13" and 16" are still available with Intel Processors that will run Parallels without any issues.
Parallels have stated that they are developing a version of Parallels that will run on the new Apple M1 Silicon, but it is not yet available. You can read more about that here.
Parallels currently have a Technical Preview Program that would allow you to try the new software early; however, it may not function correctly, and you may experience issues. If you were to run the Technical Preview of Parallels, it would not be supported by Articulate as the software is still in development.
Our supported options are using Parallels, VMware Fusion, and Apple Bootcamp.
It looks like both Parallels and VMware Fusion confirmed they're working on an update that supports the new Apple M1 Silicon! I've also looked into Apple Bootcamp but there isn't any word on if they'll release a supported version for the new MacBooks.
We'll let you know if we see that an update has shipped from either Parallels, VMware Fusion, or Apple!
Parallels is able to run Windows for ARM but not native x86 apps unless through the beta emulator available through the windows insider program. It won’t be too long before ARM processors are the norm, does anyone know if storyline runs in that emulator or an ARM version is on the horizon?
Thanks for the info. What's the reason for Articulate to still resist in creating a native Mac version of Storyline etc? Has a survey ever been completed of the community/users to gauge interest? I may be biased, I do see a lot of comments and interest when searching through the community though on this, and for the future even more so now with M1 powered machines being available. Is a VM work around ever a long term solution?
Many of us here at Articulate, including myself, are Mac users, so I understand the desire for a native Mac version of Storyline. We've made the decision not to pursue a native Mac version of Storyline. We know that it’s not the decision some folx want; however, we do believe it has and will continue to allow us to invest in the products and features that provide the most value to the majority of customers.
I appreciate your feedback and will make sure to share it with our team internally.
I'm really interested in knowing more about Parallels with Windows ARM and Storyline. I've seen some nice demonstrations of M1s running Parallels 16.5 and the performance looks impressive to say to least. I've been very happy with Parallels on my Intel MBPro but would love to get a new M1 machine; main thing holding me back is Storyline, literally the only application I need Windows for.
Hey Matthew. Thanks for such a quick comment. Really interesting to hear that someone has run Storyline in Parallels 16.5. Like probably everyone who has the Parallels perpetual I am constantly being bombarded to update to the subscription or newest perpetual but it doesn't make a lot of sense for me as my current version works great on my current hardware. And since most of my money-making work is done on my company's actual Windows machine I'm maybe a little more daring with my personal set up. I'd definitely be trying this out if I had an M1 now.
I'm going to keep my eyes open on this thread and appreciate if you get any more info on this. I'm not familiar with Devlin Peck so will have check his site out.
Parallels has released 16.5 and is no longer technical preview. There is a caveat on the website that you cannot purchase Windows and accept the licensing or lack of.
I haven’t installed any of this on the M1 I have, however reading between the lines 32 bit apps should work well. Would be good to here from Articulate to see if they have done any testing.
I think the confusion is in the 32 bit vs 64 bit applications there is a tech preview for 64bit apps.
I got the marketing emails from parallels and tried to dig deeper and although parallels will install Windows for arm you cannot license it. I doubt Microsoft will chop you off but not ideal from a business perspective.
Hey friends! I did some testing this week and we can indeed run Storyline on the Macs with M1 chips. Here's a video that shows how to do it (and it includes a performance review at the end): https://youtu.be/eR_sZffHpj4
Any updates on performance as 1) parallels has become more optimized for mac 2) windows now offers support for virtualization on parallels and 3) the m2 max chip being released?
Has anyone noticed any significant performance increase?
18 Replies
The problem is that Parallels and other software hasn't really laid out a plan for release date, and since we are in a bit of time crunch, I was hoping for some more input from other IDs/Articulate on what they might do in this situation--especially since I know a lot of Articulate employees actually use Macs themselves. I do wonder why Articulate seems to be hesitant and also kind of secretive as to why they aren't working on a Mac version. Thank you for the resource, though!
Hi Samantha,
Thanks for reaching out! While we don't have any plans to release a Mac version of Storyline 360, I can provide some information around Parallels and the new Apple products.
Currently, Parallels is working on getting a version of their software up and running on the new Apple M1 Silicon chip.
We haven't received many questions around these, yet Apple has not replaced the entire MacBook lineup with the new chips. The MacBook Pro 13" and 16" are still available with Intel Processors that will run Parallels without any issues.
Parallels have stated that they are developing a version of Parallels that will run on the new Apple M1 Silicon, but it is not yet available. You can read more about that here.
Parallels currently have a Technical Preview Program that would allow you to try the new software early; however, it may not function correctly, and you may experience issues. If you were to run the Technical Preview of Parallels, it would not be supported by Articulate as the software is still in development.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Tyler
I tired using the parallel software in development on new MacBook Pro with no success. No other options?
Hi Amanda!
Our supported options are using Parallels, VMware Fusion, and Apple Bootcamp.
It looks like both Parallels and VMware Fusion confirmed they're working on an update that supports the new Apple M1 Silicon! I've also looked into Apple Bootcamp but there isn't any word on if they'll release a supported version for the new MacBooks.
We'll let you know if we see that an update has shipped from either Parallels, VMware Fusion, or Apple!
Parallels is able to run Windows for ARM but not native x86 apps unless through the beta emulator available through the windows insider program. It won’t be too long before ARM processors are the norm, does anyone know if storyline runs in that emulator or an ARM version is on the horizon?
Hi Tyler
Thanks for the info. What's the reason for Articulate to still resist in creating a native Mac version of Storyline etc? Has a survey ever been completed of the community/users to gauge interest? I may be biased, I do see a lot of comments and interest when searching through the community though on this, and for the future even more so now with M1 powered machines being available. Is a VM work around ever a long term solution?
Thanks, Paul
Hello Paul!
Many of us here at Articulate, including myself, are Mac users, so I understand the desire for a native Mac version of Storyline. We've made the decision not to pursue a native Mac version of Storyline. We know that it’s not the decision some folx want; however, we do believe it has and will continue to allow us to invest in the products and features that provide the most value to the majority of customers.
I appreciate your feedback and will make sure to share it with our team internally.
Has anyone gotten Storyline to run in the preview of Parallels running Windows for ARM?
I'm really interested in knowing more about Parallels with Windows ARM and Storyline. I've seen some nice demonstrations of M1s running Parallels 16.5 and the performance looks impressive to say to least. I've been very happy with Parallels on my Intel MBPro but would love to get a new M1 machine; main thing holding me back is Storyline, literally the only application I need Windows for.
Hey Matthew. Thanks for such a quick comment. Really interesting to hear that someone has run Storyline in Parallels 16.5. Like probably everyone who has the Parallels perpetual I am constantly being bombarded to update to the subscription or newest perpetual but it doesn't make a lot of sense for me as my current version works great on my current hardware. And since most of my money-making work is done on my company's actual Windows machine I'm maybe a little more daring with my personal set up. I'd definitely be trying this out if I had an M1 now.
I'm going to keep my eyes open on this thread and appreciate if you get any more info on this. I'm not familiar with Devlin Peck so will have check his site out.
Parallels has released 16.5 and is no longer technical preview. There is a caveat on the website that you cannot purchase Windows and accept the licensing or lack of.
I haven’t installed any of this on the M1 I have, however reading between the lines 32 bit apps should work well. Would be good to here from Articulate to see if they have done any testing.
Sent from my iPhone
I think the confusion is in the 32 bit vs 64 bit applications there is a tech preview for 64bit apps.
I got the marketing emails from parallels and tried to dig deeper and although parallels will install Windows for arm you cannot license it. I doubt Microsoft will chop you off but not ideal from a business perspective.
Sent from my iPhone
This post was removed by the author
Hey friends! I did some testing this week and we can indeed run Storyline on the Macs with M1 chips. Here's a video that shows how to do it (and it includes a performance review at the end): https://youtu.be/eR_sZffHpj4
Devlin, any thoughts on which of the three components (Windows/Parallels/Storyline) might be causing the lag issues?
Any updates on performance as 1) parallels has become more optimized for mac 2) windows now offers support for virtualization on parallels and 3) the m2 max chip being released?
Has anyone noticed any significant performance increase?
David,
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it supports 32-bit ARM apps, like Storyline.
https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-will-support-windows-11-on-newer-macs-through-parallels-221100568.html
Storyline is not an ARM app it is x86 the ARM apps are the old RT apps
Sent from my iPhone
Then nevermind. 🙂