Current status of Windows 11 on M1/M2 Macs?

[Doc69]

I've been using VMWare Fusion since v1 on Intel Macs but now need to move to M2. I've also downloaded and read through the "Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion v19". Since VMWare, unfortunately, is not yet supporting an easy/normal install, if I follow this guide to install Win 11, how well will the VM work? And what happens when VMWare releases official M2 support/installs, will the VM I create now work as well as a new one created then? I want to know because I will have to spend a lot of time rebuilding my old Win 11 VM from Intel, so I prefer to only haviing to do that ince.

As I see that Parallels seem to be way ahead of VMWare with M1/M2 support here, obviously I have been thinking about switching to Parallels. Do you guys think that's a good idea, or is it worth staying with Fusion and hopefully they will catch up eventually?

[Technogeezer]

@Doc69 

Fusion is fully supported today on M1 and M2 Macs. And VMware will support the use of Windows 11 on Fusion today. Microsoft, however, does not at this time "bless" Fusion as a solution to run Windows 11 ARM - but that doesn't mean that it doesn't run, and doesn't run well.

"Easy install" is in the eyes of the beholder. Once you get the ISO, the install is "normal" If you look at the steps to install Windows in general from an ISO. The exception is that Windows doesn't come with an out-of-the-box driver for VMware networking and graphics. So it has to be added, which is a pain on any Windows system. I personally don't like anything to do with an "easy install" VM install such as Fusion and Parallels has. And it's a very good idea to know how to install Windows the way that Microsoft intended., especially since it really isn't that hard.

The real wrinkle in the installation is that Microsoft doesn't release a Windows 11 ARM ISO for download by consumers. Parallels worked around that, and the tool I wrote does pretty much the same thing.

After you get it installed, the VM itself will work just as well performance and functionality-wise on Fusion as it does on Parallels. The difference is that Parallels provides in-guest tools that support copy/paste/drag/drop and shared folders. There are workarounds for the shared folders, but the lack of copy/paste may still be an issue for some people. 

 If past experience is any guide, the Windows VM ARM that you build now will work in future Fusion releases. Since everything we hear indicates that VMware is working on a more complete VMware Tools for Windows 11 ARM, then I would expect that you would be able to install them on an existing VM once they provide it.

This is about the time of year that VMware likes to release "tech previews" or public beta versions of the next version of Fusion. We're hearing rumblings that there might be one coming up this summer, and if they do the expectation is that the Windows 11 tools will be part of it. You might want to consider keeping an eye out on in the Fusion forum for an announcement over the next few weeks. 

[Doc69]

Your thorough reply is much appreciated! I'll try to install Windows 11 in Fusion then before considering Parallels. Not having drag-and-drop or shared folders will be inconvenient, but if suport is coming, I can use DropBox until then. I however ran into an issue with the installation and I see that you already replied to me in the other thread: 

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/w11arm-esd2iso-a-utility-to-create-Windows...