VMware Fusion 12 now available for ‌macOS Catalina‌ and Big Sur

VMware Fusion 12 is now available for Mac. A month after its announcement, Fusion 12 is made available for ‌macOS Catalina‌ and Big Sur, in addition to Workstation 16 for Windows.

“In preparation for the next major version of macOS 11.0 Big Sur, VMware has made full use of Apple’s hypervisor and other APIs, removing the need for kernel extensions and supporting macOS 11 as both host and guest.”

The new update comes with functions like eGPU compatibility, Dark Mode, DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 support, improved accessibility controls, and many more. It uses Apple’s latest APIs in Big Sur to run virtual machines and containers, while on Catalina it uses kernel extensions to work. List of additional features from VMware’s announcement:

• DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1 –Running games and apps support with Direct3D version 11 or OpenGL 4.1
• Windows 10 Hyper-V Mode – VMware Workstation products support running VMs, containers and Kubernetes clusters on PCs with Windows 10 version 2004 that have Hyper-V mode enabled.
• Dark Mode – For Workstation Pro and Player UIs, a new Dark Mode feature will seamlessly align with the latest versions of Windows 10, including the recently released 2004 build.
• eGPU Compatibility – Fusion Player and Pro will support eGPU devices, helping offload the resource-taxing graphics rendering process from the internal integrated or discrete GPU, to a much more powerful external one.
• Improved Accessibility – Accessibility controls in compliance with VPAT Section 508, helping users get the full benefits of virtual machines.

Fusion 12 Pro and Workstation 16 Pro are specifically aimed for IT professionals, offering a cross-platform license to run on up to three machines including Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Fusion 12 Player and Workstation 16 Player are free for personal use, while new licenses will cost $149 and upgrade licenses will cost $79. The Fusion 12 Pro and Workstation 16 Pro softwares are priced at $199 for new licenses and at $99 for upgrade licenses.