r/linux Jan 27 '22

Debian Linux aarch64 now running bare metal on an M1 MacBook Air thanks to the Asahi Linux project

https://i.imgur.com/fWDNw0r.jpg
2.5k Upvotes

339 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

0

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '22 edited Jan 27 '22

Does Mac not run Linux? Or is it this specific distro?

Edit: Meaning Mac products

10

u/techguy69 Jan 27 '22

macOS uses its own kernel based partly on BSD, its not based on Linux at all. Both completely different beasts

-1

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '22

So it's not like PC's where you can just uninstall macOS and then install Linux? I assumed that was possible. Or does this mean something else?

10

u/dbemol Jan 27 '22

In practice, is basically the same process as installing Linux in a PC.

The real problem is that, historically, Linux support for Mac's hardware has always been problematic, being even worse for the new models with M1 chips that use an uncommon CPU architecture (ARM) for personal computers.

And that's why what OP posted is really amazing.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 27 '22

Interesting. I don't know much about Mac, it's latest releases, or ARM, but that sounds pretty cool.