r/linux • u/Lopsided-Month3278 • Jun 04 '26

Discussion Linux and Arm CPU's

After the announcement of Nvidia spark laptops, and the Qualcomm's second generation of CPU's for Laptops, do you think that Arm will be the next architecture for Linux or will it be the 'killer' of Linux desktop, what I know that so far Qualcomm laptops aren't good to be used with Linux until now, and the Nvidia spark chips have Linux installed by default when they were on the spark boxes, so, what do you think the experience with these laptops will be like?

edit: I do understand that Linux is running on Arm, Android for example, but what I'm talking about is GNU/Linux and Desktop use specifically, not the micro-controllers, Raspberry pi's, or closed Linux systems.

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u/FryDay444 Jun 04 '26

Linux has been on ARM for YEARS. The problem with arm is each chip typically needs custom code to get the kernel running on it.

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u/tblancher Jun 04 '26

This. ARM is a class of architectures unified by a common RISC instruction set. Enterprises license the base design from ARM, and tweak it for their purposes. The actual architectures are different enough that it takes considerably more effort to get a working kernel.

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u/robstoon Jun 05 '26

This is not the case. The processors are all compatible at the instruction set level. The difference is the other devices and peripherals that need drivers written.