Asahi Linux Still Working on Apple M3 Support, M1n1 Bootloader Going Rust

Asahi Linux Still Working on Apple M3 Support, M1n1 Bootloader Going Rust
phoronix.com

It's nice to see that M3 and later is coming, but as a Linux person, it's not necessarily a bad thing to be a bit behind the latest hardware. After all, many of us still use ancient Thinkpads running Linux, and prefer to buy used hardware for a better cost (M1/M2 hardware can be had much cheaper now).

It's getting a bit old, so it would be nice to replace it with a new MacBook Pro in not too long. But honestly, losing Linux support would be pretty devastating.

Docker and virtualization just isn't the same. There's lots of interesting stuff you can do with your hardware in Linux, there's for example Linux-specific software which puts the WiFi card in promiscuous mode and does useful stuff with that. That sort of software doesn't work virtualized. And I have all sorts of issues with loopback devices in Docker in macOS; 'losetup --partscan' doesn't seem to work at all, even in a privileged container. For these sorts of things, having a genuine bare-metal Linux install I can reboot into is invaluable.

I wish things had turned out otherwise, and we didn't have to choose between buying a Mac without Linux support and buying a 3-5 year old Mac with Linux support. And I expect that as time goes on, Asahi will just fall further and further behind.

I'm not really sure what to do. Maybe this MacBook Pro was just a one-off, and I have to go back to buying Windows laptops and putting Linux on them. But they just aren't as nice.

There are a 1st gen M1 Air wedge and M1 Macbook Pro 14 in my home that belong to other family members. I look forward to running Asahi on them when the users eventually upgrade.

When I said base model M1, I meant the CPU as opposed to the M1 Pro or Max, not the base model machine. The M1 CPU is fast enough to be "capable for years to come."

Also Asahi currently has decent support for up to the M2 Max, which is available in significantly higher configs and very much will be "capable for years to come".

Yes they still have soldered SSDs, but I have a feeling the 4TB SSD in my personal M2 Max machine will in fact last for many years. Not to mention that it's possible to solder on different NAND chips if the existing ones fail, though of course that requires a shop with sufficient skill and tools.

My point was only to say that keeping up with each years model may in fact be impossible, but the M1 and M2 line of chips are so capable that even if they stopped there, it would be a useful operating system for many years.