When one year has passed since the beginning of the Apple’s transition from x86 chips to Apple Silicon ARM chips, the only operating system that we can use in the Mac M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max is macOS, either Big Sur or Monterey. So, if you want to use Windows 10, 11 or Linux on one of these computers it has to be executing them via virtual machine.
In order not to be able to use Microsoft systems adapted to ARM architecture, the explanation may be in an exclusive agreement between Redmond and Qualcomm, so that Windows 10 and 11 cannot work on any other manufacturer’s chips. Fortunately, it seems that that agreement has little left.
As far as Linux is concerned, It is up to Apple to make their installation and use easier, and it is just what they are doing, according to Hector Martin, the developer in charge of Asahi Linux, a Linux port for Apple silicon.
Looks like Apple changed the requirements for Mach-O kernel files in 12.1, breaking our existing installation process… and they also added a raw image mode that will never break again and doesn’t require Mach-Os.
And people said they wouldn’t help. This is intended for us.
— Hector Martin (@marcan42) December 17, 2021
The future of Linux on Mac M1s is suddenly brighter
The progress Martin has made with Asahi Linux on the M1s since it started in January is impressive. He’s been documenting it all live on YouTube, and it’s been possible thanks to the fact that today he has 1091 patrons on Patreon who, at least, give him 3 dollars plus VAT every month. So we’ve seen it go from providing custom kernel support to doing an amazing job of Linux driver support.
In November, for example, it showed that the new 14 “MacBook Pro was capable of running KDE Plasma 5 from its NVMe SSD, although without GPU support it was all CPU dependent. Still, it said, performance was smooth to run. 100% with CPU.
Say hi to an M1 Pro 14″ MacBook Pro running KDE Plasma 5 on Arch Linux ARM! Notch compatible!
I made NVMe work today and decided it’s time to properly install a distro 😉 pic.twitter.com/ksSeTzJ1df
— Hector Martin (@marcan42) November 10, 2021
Now, Martin has realized that with macOS 12.1, Apple has broken its current Linux installation process on M1 machines. But nevertheless, what might seem like bad news has been celebrated by the developer, which it has considered that it has been broken because of an implementation of Apple in the system that does nothing more than help to make installing the system in the future easier and does not depend on variables that the developers of these projects do not control.
Literally, Martin says that “people said that they [Apple] they wouldn’t help. This [los cambios que ayudan] it is intended for us. ” Add, “Really, I can’t think of a single reason why they would add that for themselves. It has no use for raw images. They’re saying ‘hey, use this, it’s easier and we won’t break it in the future.” This is for Asahi“.
Given this expressed emotion, some users have asked Martin if these changes could be focused on supporting Windows in the M1, to which the developer has replied that “there is zero chance that official Windows ARM support will use this kind of manual process“So that part will have to wait.
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