Bugs squashed bonanza in first maintenance update

VirtualBox 7.1.2 Adds Support for 3D Acceleration in ARM VMs

Oracle has release a new maintenance update for VirtualBox, its open-source virtualisation software.

VirtualBox 7.1.2 is the first such point release since the VirtualBox 7.1 series debuted earlier this month. Naturally, it builds on that major release with a flurry of big fixes, performance finesse, and UI refinements, and adds a few new features.

Among them, the latest version adds support for a multi-window layout, gives users the option to choose remote display security method, and fixes for a 3D acceleration-related quirks, including black screens in Windows VMs and minor rendering issues.

A bug fixes ensures virtual machines created using the new Unattended Install feature are properly removed, while macOS (ARM) builds no longer show a beta label since the native Apple Silicon build is considered stable as of VirtualBox 7.1.

Sticking with macOS, the native ARM build of VirtualBox for Apple Silicon now supports (optional) 3D acceleration in guests. This addition may deliver an appreciable performance lift to those virtualising desktop Linux and Windows VMs.

Still no native VirtualBox ARM build for Linux – c’mon, Oracle!

A couple of other changes include faster NAT performance on Windows hosts, resolving DHCP issues under certain guests (only when domain is empty), and better error handling when enabling automatic upgrading for Guest Additions.

Finally, VirtualBox can now load saved states created for virtual machines in the VirtualBox 7.0.x series – so those of who upgraded expecting that to work, and found it didn’t, don’t need to fear losing any previous (important) saved states.

More details in the official change-log.

VirtualBox 7.1.2 is free, open-source software for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), Linux, and Solaris. You can download the latest release from the official website (which has been redesigned to feature the the new VirtualBox logo and branding).

If the newest features and user-interface changes aren’t as important as convenience, an older version of VirtualBox is available to install from the Ubuntu repos on all supported releases, just run a sudo apt install virtualbox to get it.