Will it become possible to run Linux on Silicon Macs, and how?

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I have been investigating the possibility of running Linux on the new line of M1 Macs and perhaps also on those future M2, M3, … ones. These are some of the things that I have found out:

For a start, Linux already run on different CPU architectures, including ARM’s RISC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:ARM_Linux_distributions

Linus Torvalds would like to see Linux running on M1 Macs:

https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020/11/23/linus-torvalds-wants-apples-new-m1-powered-macs-to-run-linux/

But he is not very hopeful that Linux will run “on bare metal” there:

” Answering to question in the Real World Tech forum, Torvalds said that while Apple runs its servers and cloud services on Linux, its computers don’t run it natively. He said that he’s been wanting an ARM-based Linux laptop for a while, but he doesn’t want to have to mess with Apple’s new laptop for it to run Linux:

I’ve been waiting for an ARM laptop that can run Linux for alongtime. The new Air would be almost perfect, except for the OS. And I don’t have the time to tinker with it, or the inclination to fight companies that don’t want to help. “

However, it seems that it will run on M1 Macs in some virtual machines, particularly if it is a Linux ARM-based distro:

https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/apple-silicon-arm-plans-3790784/

” Virtualization tools such as Parallels Desktop should continue to be able to run other operating systems though. Apple showed a Debian Linux running as a virtual machine in Parallels Desktop. However, it was not clear whether the Linux system itself was compiled on ARM chips. Linux has long been available for different processor architectures. Apple has not yet shown Windows 10 running on Apple Silicon.

However, hopefully there will be a solution in the future. Senior Vice President of Engineering and Customer Support at Parallels, Nick Dobrovolsky, said back in June 2020 that: “Parallels is proud to be working closely with Apple during this exciting transition, and we’re looking forward to launching support for future Macs with Apple Silicon. ”

And there is some work being done on the Linux side to develop distros that can ran on virtual machines for macs:

https://www.xda-developers.com/apple-silicon-mac-boot-windows-10-and-linux-virtualization/

” Alexander Graf, an engineer from Amazon on AWS, has been fiddling with the popular open-source machine emulator and virtualizer QEMU to add Apple Silicon support. He has put a ton of work into making the necessary Hypervisor framework patches to the QEMU codebase in order to run both Linux and Windows as guests on M1 Macs. We’re now at a point where almost all basic functionality, including virtualized audio and network interfaces, work. What’s even more interesting is that traditional Win32 apps built for the x86 architecture work just fine on the guest Windows 10 VM, thanks to the WoW for ARM64 emulation layer. ”

The questions such as speed of execution or power efficiency will come back later, first it will have to be demonstrations with Linux running on an M1 Mac for real. The one at Apple, mentioned in the macworld.co.uk article linked here, would be the first one.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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[Alex5723]

The questions such as speed of execution or power efficiency will come back later

Windows-on-ARM on the M1 run 66% faster then running natively on Surface X.

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/dev-successfully-runs-arm-windows-virtualization-on-m1-mac/#post-2316749

• This reply was modified 4 years, 5 months ago by Alex5723.

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Nathan Parker, OscarCP

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Here is something I forgot to include in my opening comment:

A related issue of particular interest to those, such as myself, that will be running Big Sur — primarily meant for ARM CPU Macs, but also compatible with Intel CPU Macs such as mine — is whether one can run Linux on these older machines after upgrading to Big Sur (in my case, from Mojave.)

The answer is YES and it could be done: (1) in dual-boot using “bootcamp”, still supported for Intel Macs — but from what I have been reading this requires some major surgery that includes things like partitioning the HD or SSD of a seriously expensive Mac. Not for the inexperienced (e.g., myself). For the likes of me, a less blood-curdling option would be: (2) to run Linux on a VM:

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3570739/yes-you-can-now-run-windows-on-big-sur.html

” Apple used Parallels Desktop to run Linux on a Big Sur Mac when it announced the new operating system at WWDC online in June. A stray Dock icon suggested that Windows support – at least on Intel-based Macs – would follow. Now it has arrived: Parallels Desktop lets you run both Windows and Linux on your [Intel] Mac. “

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Here are the answers to your questions:

1. You will be able to run Linux in a VM on an Apple Silicon Mac at least running Parallels Desktop, and likely VMWare Fusion (and hopefully VirtualBox). Apple already demoed Linux running in a VM on an Apple Silicon Mac running Parallels Desktop, so it is possible. Performance will likely be great.
2. Another indie developer is working on a specific port of Linux to Apple Silicon Macs and asking for donations. Alex posted it in another thread on here. So it’s another possible future option.
3. I’ve run Linux on Intel Macs before. Performance is generally decent and not much of a performance hit on the Mac itself, although it depends on the VM specs you throw at it. Lighter Linux VMs I’ve run still run fast without much of a hit on the Mac’s performance. I ran one heck of a server VM on my old 2011 iMac, and my Mac’s performance did degrade while it was running. It all just depends on how powerful your Mac is and what specs your VM are, but I’m most cases, it works out great.
4. Also don’t forget with macOS being based on UNIX, some of your Linux geekery can be done right on macOS. I was able to bring some of my Linux weather apps over to macOS in the past and run them right on macOS.

Nathan Parker

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OscarCP

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Nathan, This is good news. For now, I am planning to get and install a VM in my current Intel Mac, that is pretty peppy, then install Linux Mint in it, because I like the idea of running Linux right in the same machine I use for most things these days, without bothering with the messy business of setting up Linux in dual boot with macOS. I like things work faster rather than slower, but I do not need lightening speed. My biggest jobs, which I rarely have to do, last less than 15 minutes to run. Not a problem: I can wait listening to some music with the Mac’s speakers.

As to the command line, it is pretty much, but not exactly the same as the one of Linux: the commands have the same names, but there are little differences here and there that cannot be ignored. I have a couple of books on macOS and on Linux, but it is often faster to do a search with the right key words to see, when a command is giving trouble, how one issues the equivalent of its Linux namesake in macOS.

Why the differences? One guess is that some of them may be inherited from BSD. Another guess is that Steve Jobs got bored one day and decided to entertain himself doing something about the command line.

 

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

MacBook Pro circa mid-2015, 15" display, with 16GB 1600 GHz DDR3 RAM, 1 TB SSD, a Haswell architecture Intel CPU with 4 Cores and 8 Threads model i7-4870HQ @ 2.50GHz.
Intel Iris Pro GPU with Built-in Bus, VRAM 1.5 GB, Display 2880 x 1800 Retina, 24-Bit color.
macOS Monterey; browsers: Waterfox "Current", Vivaldi and (now and then) Chrome; security apps. Intego AV

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Nathan Parker

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