For institutions or schools that currently support virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solutions such as Citrix, VMWare Horizon, Parallels RAS, Amazon Workspaces, etc., ArcGIS Pro is supported. VDI provides the ability to run applications like ArcGIS Pro over the internet and serve them through a browser.

However, for those who require Windows support on M1 Macs using virtual machines (VMs), there are some limitations to be aware of. According to Parallels, their technical preview allows users to load an OS 'insider preview' (Windows 10 ARM) to install ArcGIS Pro, but this is not yet a supported option.

VMWare, on the other hand, does not currently have a roadmap or technical preview for supporting M1 Macs. Furthermore, there is no VM client that can be installed locally to support Windows VMs on M1 Macs.

For those who require running ArcGIS Pro on a laptop with an Intel chip, purchasing a MacBook with an Intel processor remains a viable option. Virtual machines are supported on most MacBooks with Intel chips, and users can still purchase laptops with the latest Intel processors.

In summary, for those who need to run ArcGIS Pro on a Mac, there are currently no Windows VM platforms that support the new M1 processor. However, VDI solutions do support M1 Macs. If you're interested in learning more about the current recommendations and options available, you can read more here.

Parallels Desktop 17 has recently been released, which has been rebuilt and optimized to natively run on Apple M1 and Intel-based Mac devices.

Parallels on m1 macs