Linux for Apple Silicon Macs

The new Apple Silicon MacBooks boasting the M1 chip have made quite the impression as they are a huge milestone in the PC world. The idea that computer companies like Apple are trending back towards the standard of making their own CPUs is big step as it not only means a major migration for developers, but it also means a huge shift in the market as it has been standard for computer companies to use common CPUs such as Intel instead of designing their own custom CPUs.

So far, these new M1 MacBooks are performing exceptionally well compared to any of its Arm-based competitors, making them highly appealing for Linux users to want to take advantage of the hardware. While there are some virtual machine options for running Linux with Apple's built-in instruction set translator, a native Linux install is the most desirable solution.

This is where Hector "marcan" Martin comes in. Martin is a maker/developer that "likes putting Linux on things" that has set his sights on making Linux on Apple M1 a reality. Given the M1 chip is brand new silicon, he'll be starting from scratch in porting Linux to run on them. Which is needless to say, is a very large project to undertake.

Since Apple allows booting unsigned/custom kernels on Apple Silicon Macs without a jailbreak as a feature built into the M1 chips, this project isn't a hack as it hints that Apple hasn't intended to lock users into only using Mac OS as they have done with devices that run iOS. This presents the opportunity for the proper drivers to be written for all devices to really make a version of Linux that is an OS you'd actually want to use on a daily basis, rather than just a tech demo.

To support his efforts, Martin has started a Patreon where he has so far raised enough in monthly contributions to make this project is full-time job. He also wants to make the project an educational resource for those who are interested, so he has been posting frequent project updates detailing his progress thus far and has mentioned that there will be occasional live streams.

There are valid doubts as to the viability of this project as there are doubts as to how much information Apple will release about the M1 SoC architecture, forcing Linux developers to have to reverse engineer it. Martin, however, has a proven track record though for porting Linux to closed hardware such as the PS4, making him the best person for the job.

Check out the project's Patreon's page for updates and milestones!