Windows 10 ARM can be run on Mac computers with Apple Silicon chips (M1, M2, M3) mainly through virtualization software like Parallels Desktop or UTM, but not natively or officially licensed by Microsoft as of 2025. Microsoft does not provide a licensed version of Windows 10 ARM for official installation on Apple Silicon Macs, making official installations technically unsupported and potentially violating Microsoft’s licensing terms if done with virtualization tools without a proper license [2] [4] [3].
Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10, including ARM versions, in October 2025. After this date, Windows 10 will no longer receive updates or security fixes, and users are recommended to upgrade to Windows 11 [1]. Windows 11 is increasingly the focus for ARM-based PCs, including those running on Apple Silicon through virtualization.
In practice:
- You can install and run Windows 10 ARM on an M1 Mac using virtualization tools such as UTM or Parallels Desktop, often with community-shared images and configurations. These setups emulate ARM Windows environments but do not have official licensing from Microsoft [3] [4] [10].
- Running Windows 10 ARM on Apple Silicon Macs natively (without virtualization) is not officially supported or feasible at this time due to licensing and technical restrictions [2].
- Windows 10 ARM has limitations, such as no support for 64-bit x64 applications (only ARM64, ARM32, or x86 32-bit apps run), limited device driver support, and some compatibility issues with software designed for traditional x86 Windows [1].
Therefore, for 2025, while it is possible to run Windows 10 ARM on M1 Macs via virtualization—and some users do so using free tools like UTM or commercial solutions like Parallels—this setup is unofficial and Windows 10 ARM itself will be out of official support after October 2025. Users interested in Windows on Apple Silicon might consider Windows 11 ARM instead, which has better ongoing support and application compatibility on ARM devices [6] [9].
In summary, Windows 10 ARM can be run virtually on M1 Macs in 2025 but without official Microsoft licensing, and support for Windows 10 ends in October 2025. No official native installation method exists for M1 Macs.