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VR is a big trend, again. Recent advances in VR development prove that mass-market VR is near. Experts say 2020 might actually be the time of virtual reality's breakout. Also, it seems like self-isolation has something to do with it.
In spring 2020, the COVID-19 quarantine forced the whole world into a lockdown. Like a dip in ice-cold water, it hurt. But it also helped us rethink the routine of work and the tools we use to connect with each other. The new reality of social distancing caused a huge spike in video conferencing, content streaming, gaming, and…VR? If you think about it, VR might be a great way to think outside the Zoom box. Instead of seeing your friends' or colleagues' faces in small squares on a screen, you could actually get everyone into one room.
Jun 21, 2005 This update is recommended for all users who are using Virtual PC for Mac Version 7.0 or 7.0.1. This update improves overall stability of Virtual PC and allows Virtual PC to run on Mac OS X Version 10.4.1. Jan 13, 2021 Here are the best virtual machine apps for Mac. VirtualBox is a free and open source virtual machine software from Oracle. It’s designed with developers and IT professionals in mind, so VirtualBox provides you with a great deal of control over your virtual environments. VirtualBox supports a great number of guest operating.
- Here are the best virtual machine apps for Mac. VirtualBox is a free and open source virtual machine software from Oracle. It’s designed with developers and IT professionals in mind, so VirtualBox provides you with a great deal of control over your virtual environments. VirtualBox supports a great number of guest operating.
- Virtual Families for Mac Try Free (for 1 hour) $6.99 (unlimited) Includes VF Game Guide.
- Resident Evil 3 Mac OS X One of the best games of 2020 is Resident Evil 3. This remake of the 1999’s original Resident Evil features new gameplay mechanics, highly requested by fans. Download now Resident Evil 3 for Mac and enjoy this masterpiece of the series. The story follows two of the few survivors from Racoon City.
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Apparently, VR manufacturers and tech companies got the gist. On September 16, at their annual Connect event, Facebook announced the long-anticipated Oculus Quest 2. It’s a flagship VR headset uniting all of the Oculus VR hardware owned by Facebook. Rumor has it Apple is working on something in the domain of virtual reality, too.
In fact, lots of cool VR tech has been available for some time now. Whether you’re an avid VR believer or simply enjoy gaming, let's make sure you use the best tools available. In this article, we'll explore VR on Mac — from choosing the best VR headset to making your computer VR-ready.
How to set up VR on Mac
Up until the release of macOS High Sierra, virtual reality has been, well, a non-existent reality for Mac users. Apple computers have not been technologically equipped to support VR, just as any advanced video editing programs. But times have changed, and there's been huge progress VR-wise over the last three years.
source: GadgetFlow
So what does it take to create the best VR setup for Mac? Apart from a good VR headset, three things:
Powerful graphics card. If your Mac is 2015 and younger, you already have a solid internal graphics card. Recent Macs that come with Radeon Pro 555 or 560 and iMacs with Radeon Pro 570-580 are pretty powerful. Still, even your high-end Mac's graphics card is not enough for gaming. This is why it's recommended you get an external card as well.
External graphics card. The only major requirement is it should be compatible with High Sierra or later — so make sure you check it before buying.
eGPU Enclosures. It's where you plug an external graphics card — a must-have if your Mac is older than 2015. To get eGPU work with Mac, make sure you upgrade macOS to High Sierra or later. Plus, your Mac should have a Thunderbolt 3 Port or an adapter for older Macs without Thunderbolt 3. Apple's registered devs can purchase a native toolkit (eGPU + Radeon graphics card + Thunderbolt 3 adapter). But you can also get it all separately. More info on eGPU compatibility and graphics cards here.
Bottom line: If your Mac isn't older than 2015 + you get a good external graphics card and an eGPU enclosure, you're good to go.
Best VR headset 2021 working on Mac
Last piece of the puzzle, VR headset that's compatible with Mac. I would love to give you a huge list of options — but the truth is you can really use only one. HTC Vive is the only VR headset officially working on Mac. Poor tech specifications in macOS are the main reason why large VR manufacturers are primarily focused on PCs. This makes HTC Vive VR the only sustainable option. It's also the best VR headset for Steam, according to PCMag review, which is awesome news for gamers. Well, it WAS awesome news.
source: PC Gamer
Until recently, SteamVR has been the only VR system Mac users could use for gaming, along with HTC Vive headset — but it seems like they are dropping support for macOS soon. So the future of HTC Vive games is pretty fuzzy.
HTC Vive versus HTC Vive Pro
If you consider getting a headset for Mac, there are two HTC Vive models you choose from — the basic one and Pro. The improved version was released in 2018 as an upgrade to the original HTC Vive. But is it really worth it? Let’s point out the main enhancements you’ll find in HTC Vive Pro:
Dual-lens setup. An extra lens has been added to enable new tracking capabilities. Unlike the original model, HTC Vive Pro can track hand gestures.
Built-in headphones. No need to add your own pair of headphones to have an immersive VR experience, the Pro version has it.
Upgraded resolution. 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye versus 1080 x 1200 in HTC Vive.
Clearly, the newer version has some top-notch design and resolution perks — but note that it’s also considerably more expensive. The HTC Vive price is $719 on Amazon. It covers the full VR system, including the headset, controllers, base stations, and cables. The pro version will cost you $1199 for the full kit or $599 if you want to buy the headset only.
Are there HTC Vive alternatives for Mac?
Not really. Some users say you can make Oculus Rift work with Mac, which is another top-rated VR system. Technically, some recent MacBook Pro and iMac models seem to have the right specs, but the GPU performance is still no good for VR. Plus, Facebook recently announced they are retiring Rift S next year. This leaves you with HTC Vive VR headset for Mac, and a bit of hope Apple will produce an alternative, maybe.
Is it possible to use Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 with Mac?
The newest Oculus Quest 2 headsets that will start shipping on October 13 are not officially compatible with macOS. However, it’s still a widely held opinion that Oculus Quest works with high-performing Macs. To make it work, you can run Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp — which many users say will work perfectly fine with Mac Pros that have solid video cards.
If your Mac has the required specs, you can try and use Oculus Quest 2 with a Mac. It has some major performance improvements compared to the older version. Please note it’s the first Oculus product that requires Facebook authorization via an account. The price of Facebook’s brand new VR headset starts from $299.
Are there HTC Vive alternatives for Mac?
Not really. Some users say you can make Oculus Rift work with Mac, which is another top-rated VR system. Technically, some recent MacBook Pro and iMac models seem to have the right specs, but the GPU performance is still no good for VR. Plus, the creators of Oculus Rift say they don’t intend to focus on macOS support for now. This leaves you with HTC Vive VR headset for Mac, and a bit of hope Apple will produce an alternative, maybe.
Apple VR headset: Is there hope?
Over the last couple of years, Apple has been very active interacting with AR/VR companies and acquiring related startups. The rumor has been around for some time, the company is working on its own Apple VR headset utilizing new processing chips — the so-called T288 project. Expected release: later this year. Again, Apple made no official announcements about this, but the community is hopeful.
Very possibly, we might even expect more than a native headset. On April 30, 2020, Valve announced they are dropping support for Macs. This is no surprise with only 4% of gamers using macOS. Plus, Valve has repeatedly mentioned even the latest MacBook Pros failed to meet SteamVR specification requirements. At the time of writing this post, there’s been no official response on Apple’s side. And many users assume this might mean only one thing — the company is going to release its native full-fledged VR very soon. So let’s stay tuned!
How to optimize your Mac for VR
All things considered, Macs and VR are not the best match — at least for now. This doesn’t mean you should give up on your favorite Apple computer only because it’s not the best choice for HTC Vive games. In fact, there are some great ways to bring these two closer together. By optimizing Mac’s performance for greater speed and low graphics card requirements, you definitely add some power. Think of it as biohacking for Mac gaming. No worries, we’re not gonna break anything.
Before diving into hacks, make sure you have a suitable hardware setup. Apart from Steam VR headset for gaming, you’ll also need two base stations for tracking the headset’s position and orientation, as well as a pair of Vive controllers. If you want a wireless VR headset, you’ll also need an adopter. The best choice would be to get the HTC Vive full kit instead of buying the headset separately.
Ready to roll? Let’s make the most out of your Mac’s performance.
1. Free up space on Mac
Steam games are heavy — too heavy for an average hard drive. This means your Mac’s storage has to be prepared. You can go through your folders and clear away all the clutter and stuff you don’t really need. Two reasons why it’s not the best idea: 1) Some tricky file leftovers and old caches will remain undetectable; 2) You’ll literally spend hours on every thorough cleanup. Good news is you can avoid the pain with CleanMyMac X, the best Mac cleaner out there. The app will run a smart scan on your computer, inspecting every corner for hidden junk. Next thing you know — it’s all gone.
My personal favorite is CleanMyMac’s Uninstaller. The problem with naughty apps is they often leave traces on your Mac — lots of associated files that you can’t delete simply by moving the app into the Trash folder. In Uninstaller, you press a single button to free up every gigabyte you possibly can. Plus, you can bulk uninstall apps to speed up the process.
2. Ensure perfect streaming quality
A good play takes one very basic condition. Top-notch streaming quality — which totally relies on your network connection. WiFi Explorer is a Mac utility that makes sure you don’t have to worry about it. The app works as a smart network analyzer that controls your WiFi while you stay focused on your work — or Steam games. The best thing is WiFi Explorer not only provides insights on the state of your network connection, it also helps troubleshoot it. That’s right, you can fix WiFi problems without any professional skills, simply by using WiFi Explorer’s built-in toolkit.
3. Keep your iStat Menus on the pulse
On your Mac’s pulse, to be accurate. iStat Menus is number three wonderful utility for VR fans, and pretty much anybody who wants to keep their Mac strong and fast. Working from the menu bar, iStat Menus monitors every aspect of Mac’s performance. From basic indicators like CPU load and battery life to the most advanced ones, including airflow and frames per second. With iStat Menus, you get to see disk usage and disk activity, which helps trace the real-time impact of certain processes on your Mac. It’s a perfect tool to make sure your Mac won’t get stuck or freeze while you’re playing.
All three apps mentioned here are available with a free 7-day trial on Setapp. So you’re getting the entire strategic toolkit for Mac gaming in one installation. Nice bonus, 200+ best apps you can use for other jobs on Mac will arrive with Setapp, too. Hope these tips will make your virtual reality for Mac a better reality. Just make sure you don’t move there for good, we need you here.
If you want to run Windows on your Mac there are two ways to do it. One is to partition your main drive using the built-in Bootcamp Assistant and then install Windows on the partition that doesn’t house macOS. You can then boot into whichever operating system you choose.
While that method means running Windows natively and so is optimal in terms of performance, it means you have to reboot every time you want to move between operating systems and you can’t, for example, copy and paste between macOS and Windows. If you want to run Windows and macOS side by side, you’ll need to create a Windows virtual machine for Mac.
What is a virtual machine?
A virtual machine (VM) is a computer that’s created in software and looks and feels just like a real PC. But it runs inside a Mac application. The whole virtual machine, with the operating system and all its applications, is stored inside one big file on your Mac. That means you can have multiple virtual machines on the same Mac. Once you launch it and ‘boot’ the virtual PC, Windows VM on Mac behaves like any other Windows machine, except that it’s running inside a window on your Mac.
If you have two screens connected to your Mac, you can have macOS on one and Windows on the other. Or you can use Mission Control to swipe between them. A virtual machine can share accessories like printers and external storage with your Mac, and you can copy and paste between the two operating systems. You can even set up the virtual machine to use Mac keyboard shortcuts instead of their Windows equivalents.
Can I run a virtual machine on my Mac?
As long as your Mac has an Intel processor (and it will have unless it’s more than 12 years old), in theory it can run a virtual machine. However, running a virtual machine alongside macOS needs lots of memory (at least 8GB in total, and more if you want to run more than one virtual machine) and at least two processor cores. You’ll also need at least 16-20GB of hard drive space, and that’s before you start installing applications and saving files. Most modern Macs should run any of the virtual machine applications described here without a problem.
The other thing you’ll need is a copy of Windows. Virtual machine applications don’t come with Windows installers, so you’ll need to supply your own, along with a licence key.
Best virtual machine software for Mac
There are three contenders here: Parallels Desktop, VMWare Fusion, and VirtualBox. We’ll discuss Virtual Box in the next section.
Parallels Desktop 13
The latest version of Parallels Desktop has support for features in the latest Macs, like the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. It also allows you to make the Windows desktop ‘invisible’ when you’re running apps, so it looks like you’re just running Windows apps in macOS. Or, if you prefer, you can shrink Windows desktop down to a thumbnail preview, so it doesn’t get in the way but you can keep an eye on what it’s doing.
Of course, virtual machines aren’t just about running Windows on your Mac. Parallels Desktop allows you to install Linux, or a different version of macOS, say a beta of the next version if you don’t want to install it on your Mac. If you’ve previously installed Windows on a Boot Camp partition, you can use that partition as a virtual machine, allowing you to boot into it from within Parallels without re-booting your Mac.
Touch Bar support includes functions in Microsoft Office apps, as well as Windows Task Bar.
When it comes to performance, Parallels Desktop is about as good as it gets for virtual machines. That means you can run most applications just fine, but demanding 3D graphics-intensive games, and other apps that place lots of demands on the CPU and GPU are still a bit of a struggle. If you want to run those in Windows, you’re still better off using Boot Camp.
VMWare Fusion
The other main contender when it comes to running a virtual machine on your Mac is VMWare Fusion. It comes in two versions, Fusion 10, which costs about the same as Parallels Desktop, and Fusion 10 Pro, which is more expensive but adds feature aimed at enterprise customers, such as support for managing virtual servers.
In terms of features, there’s little to choose between Parallels Desktop and Fusion. Like its rival, Fusion allows you to choose between running Windows inside a window on your Mac (or full-screen if you prefer) and in what it calls Unity mode, where the operating system disappears and Windows apps look like they’re running natively on the Mac. That means you can run Windows and Mac apps alongside each other and switch between them seamlessly. You can also copy and paste between Mac and Windows, share peripherals, and map Mac keyboard shortcuts in Windows.
Support for OpenGL and DX10, as well as Apple’s Metal technology means that playing resource-hungry games is theoretically possible. But, as with Parallels, performance in the latest games lags behind Boot Camp and may prove frustrating.
The latest version of Fusion adds support for the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar.
Choosing between Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion may be as much a matter of a preference for one or the other’s user interface. They have very similar features, and cost almost the same. Fortunately, both offer free trials — Parallels for 14 days and Fusion for 30 days — so you can download each one and try them out before making a decision on which to buy.
Best free virtual machine software for Mac
If you want to run a virtual machine on your Mac but can’t stretch to the $70 for Parallels or Fusion, there is a third option — VirtualBox. Owned by Oracle and made available as open-source software for personal or educational use, VirtualBox won’t cost you a penny if you fall into either of those two categories.
Windows Virtual Pc For Mac
That’s the good news. The bad news is that VirtualBox, because it’s open source and free lacks all of the polish of Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion. While it does the basics competently, it’s much less user friendly and much less easy to use than the other two. And while there is help available online from other users, there’s no official support if you run into problems. And remember, while VirtualBox itself is free, you’ll still need to supply your own copy of Windows. Alternatively, you could use VirtualBox to run Linux on your Mac, instead of Windows.
Alternatives to a virtual machine
As we mentioned earlier, the alternative to running a virtual machine on your Mac is to partition your main drive using the built-in Boot Camp Assistant (it’s in the Utilities folder). You can then install Windows or Linux, or another version on macOS, on the other partition.
Boot Camp Assistant is very easy to use and once you’ve set it up, booting into, say, Windows, is just like using it natively on a PC. That means, of course, that you won’t be able to copy and paste between Mac and Windows, and you won’t be able to use external storage that’s formatted in APFS or Mac OS Extended, but Windows will run faster than it does on a virtual machine.
If you plan to use Boot Camp Assistant to partition your main drive, remember to back it up first. Partitioning a drive is not quite major surgery, but it definitely carries the risk of losing data.
How to make space for a virtual machine on your Mac
Depending on how many applications you plan to install on your virtual machine and what you plan to use it for, you may need tens of gigabytes of free space on your Mac. If space is tight, don’t worry, there’s plenty you can do to make room. As a first step, we recommend installing CleanMyMac X. It scans your Mac and looks for files that can be safely deleted. These include “junk” system files like cache files and other temporary files that are still hanging around, as well as language support files, and data in Photos and iTunes you may not need. Once it’s scanned your Mac and found all those files, you can delete them all with a click, or review the results of the scan and decide for yourself what you want to trash.
CleanMyMac can also uninstall files completely, getting rid of all the files that are left if you just drag and app to the Trash, and highlight large and old files that you haven’t opened for a while. Best of all, you can download it free here and give it a try. You’ll be surprised about how much space you can free up.
Virtual machines are the most convenient way of running a second operating system on your Mac. The ones we have highlighted here are the best VMs for Mac, so download one and give it a go.