With Microsoft facing tough challenges in bringing Visual Studio 2022 for Mac up to parity with its Windows cousin, a new alternative just shipped: Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac.

Specifically, that would be Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac helped by an improved Visual Studio plugin for running the IDE on the famed virtualization software that has let users users enjoy all manner of Windows programs on macOS for years.

Shipped just today (Aug. 9), the Pro edition of the Parallels software boasts the ability to "easily analyze an application performance on a separate VM using the enhanced Parallels plugin for Visual Studio."

Furthermore, the Pro edition web site touts the new Visual Studio plug-in for Mac with Apple M Series chips: "Debug in a safe, isolated environment. The Parallels plug-in for Visual Studio enables you to develop software in one virtual machine and test it in others with just one click. The plug-in has been updated to support Mac computers with Apple M Series chips. Moreover, the new plug-in is much easier to install in Visual Studio 2019. To start remote debugging of your project, build the project and test it locally. Then click Parallels > Start Debugging in the VM and select the virtual machine you need."

Also, Parallels provides pre-built VMs that include a full Windows 10 Development Environment with Visual Studio and other tools pre-installed.

All of the above may be incentive enough to give it a try among VS for Mac users who for years have been frustrated with performance and reliability problems. Microsoft's dev team overcame some serious technical challenges in bringing the "for Mac" version up to speed. In fact, when Visual Studio 2022 for Mac v17.0 shipped in May, it was some six months behind its Windows counterpart.

Parallels, meanwhile, has been courting Visual Studio developers for years with guidance like "Visual Studio for Mac: How to Get Microsoft Visual Studio on Mac."

"Let's face the facts, while the operating systems and tools available on Microsoft have the edge in the business world, they still haven't bested the hold Apple's ecosystem of products has on our hearts," it says. "We simply love our MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones.

"This divided love has led to most of us living double lives. We know so many of you in the software industry are victims of this and have had to use Microsoft at work and Mac everywhere else. Visual Studio is an excellent example of this. Even developers who live by and large in Apple's ecosystem know the value in the years Microsoft has spent refining, running, and upgrading this tool."

The Parallels guidance says the five steps needed to get Microsoft Visual Studio on Mac include:

The company admits the VM approach comes with a couple financial considerations like the purchase cost mentioned in step No. 1 -- along with subscription costs and a Windows license -- but maintains those expenses pale in comparison to buying a new machine just to run Visual Studio, which it describes as the best IDE around.

"While you may buy a new PC if you wish to enjoy both the Mac and Microsoft worlds, it is unnecessarily costly," the company said. "Why not use the fluidity of Parallels Desktop and have the best of both worlds?"

The user's guide for Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac (a v18 user's guide doesn't seem to be available) explains the steps and prerequisites needed to optimize remote debugging. For the latter, a Windows 7 or later VM with Visual Studio Professional/Enterprise 2013 (or later) is required, along with other running VMs (with Windows 7 or later) used to test the project.

Some users, however, have had problems using the VM software, as detailed in a Reddit post from about 10 months ago titled "VS 2022 on M1 Mac using Parallels?" One user reported the debugger didn't work, although another said it worked fine. Others reported hearing multiple problems second-hand.

There are definitely vital use cases for adopting the Parallels approach, as evidenced in this April post on the Ars Technical forums titled "State of Visual Studio/SQL Server/IIS development in Windows on M1 Macs":

However, immediately throwing water on that hopefulness was this comment: "Keep in mind that Windows on ARM isn't licensed for use in virtual machines on Macs, so if that matters to your employer, as it does to mine, you may not be able to pursue this."

David Ramel is an editor and writer for Converge360.

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