Asahi Linux has requested an extraction of the Linux kernel, so version 5.3 could add official support to Macs with M1.
Getting Linux to work natively on M1-chip Macs is a complex task. Even the creator of the kernel of this operating system, Linus Torvalds, has said that Apple "does not want to help" with that task. However, efforts are not stopping and preliminary Linux support for SoC M1 computers could arrive as soon as June.
A report from Phoronix explains that while there is still a lot of work to be done for Linux to officially support Apple Silicon computers, it could come sooner than expected. The site ensures that the conditions are in "good enough" shape that the 5.13 kernel can add the expected support. And while this will be a very important step, there will still be many elements to polish in terms of performance.
As Tom’s Hardware points out, the hope that compatibility may be forthcoming comes from a kernel pull request. It was requested by Héctor Martin, from the Asahi Linux project. He is an experienced engineer and developer with over 15 years of experience in Linux migration and running software on devices that are not officially supported.
Linux on Macs with M1 and the driver dilemma
Earlier this year, the virtualization company Corellium managed to install and run Linux Ubuntu on one of the newer Mac minis. For this, they used a version for Raspberry Pi (ARM). The feat revealed that M1 computers do not have the only closed boot to macOS, but it also exhibited the strong hardware limitations of not having drivers that allow the operation of the integrated graphics, or the wireless connectivity chips.
However, Corellium's advancements were not based on offering support for Apple Silicon from the Linux kernel. Those of Asahi Linux, on the other hand, do point to the kernel. They are developing an initial boot system "m1n1", to take care of as many hardware quirks as possible and present a boot protocol.
The report further indicates that Asahi released a series of kernel patches with essential drivers for Linux booting on Mac Mini, 13 ″ MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air with M1 processors. These have allowed progress in different aspects (UART, SMP, and DeviceTree) "to offer basic functionality." There's also a SimpleFB-based frame buffer, but getting video accelerated, they say, "will be a daunting challenge."
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