Native GPU Driver for Apple Silicon Is Nearly Here
Full-blown Linux on the Apple M1 and M2 chips is almost a reality.
The Asahi Linux Project has taken a giant leap toward getting full-blown graphical Linux running on Apple Silicon M1/M2 chips.
Although not ready for mainstream usage, thanks to a developer who goes by Asahi Lina, the project is getting very close to releasing a Rust-based GPU driver for Linux.
Asahi Lina only joined the project a couple of months ago and immediately began working on a prototype driver that would allow running GUI apps on Linux.
According to the Asahi Linux news from back in July 2022, "Asahi Lina joined our team and took on the challenge of reverse engineering the M1 GPU hardware interface and writing a driver for it." The announcement continues, "In this short time, she has already built a prototype driver good enough to run real graphics applications and benchmarks, building on top of the existing Mesa work."
Just a few short months later, Asahi Linux is now able to successfully run both Gnome and KDE apps as well as YouTube on Firefox. For those who want to see this in action, check out Asahi Lina's tweet which includes a mini stream where she shows off her work.
The one caveat to Lina's work is that it has, so far, only been tested on the M1 chips.
Because she is writing this driver in Rust, chances are that we won't see a release until the 6.1 kernel is made available.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.