Anybody here use Asahi Linux?
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Well allow me to retort:
"Works" is not the same as "works well". As you mentioned, the bare minimum of it working has been achieved...kudos I guess.
The hardware is proprietary, and without someone devoting a LOT of time to reverse engineering the drivers to a point of, let's say, 90% functionality, there is literally no point except to say "I can run a Linux kernel on this thing".
The point of even having the hardware to begin with is the battery lifetime with the power draw from the SoC. As you noted, you don't get that benefit from Asahi. Not the full GPU power, or the audio hardware, or the networking, or the onboard security features, or the network offloading...I can go on.
Why would anyone buy a machine that is designed to run a specific OS, just to run a different OS on it and lose all the benefits of running that hardware in the first place? Bragging rights?
It's a stupid purchase if you just want a good Linux machine. Framework is a much better buy.
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I actually switched back to Asahi on my M1 Macbook Air this weekend, and while it works well enough for me to stick to it for now, I would definitely not buy Apple Silicon hardware for Linux next time. I'm running Fedora Asahi Remix on Gnome with Wayland for reference. Fingerprint sensor isn't working, microphone is "WIP" according to the feature table, etc. Battery life is significantly worse, especially standby, so if you use it for traveling a lot it's not that great. I might boot back into MacOS if I bring it with me on vacation honestly. It is also not nearly as "smooth". Scrolling stutters etc. Nothing that actually impacts the speed of what you do though. This is probably not an issue for most I would think, but for the Norwegian keyboard I had to manually edit the config to get access to the apostrophe: '. In general, it is a bit annoying that it has
a different keyboard layout than every other computer I use.There can be some compatibility issues, Discord isn't or at least wasn't running on Linux Arm, but there are 3rd party clients that do. Games are probably also not great, although I can't say I have tested after the Vulkan update. Last time I went back to MacOS so I could play Balatro on vacation. Other than that I don't really use that many apps on my laptop, and haven't missed any.
Then there is a Gnome specific quirk: touchpad scrolling is way too fast, and it isn't configurable in the settings. There are some "hacky" workarounds around, but they seem to be outdated and failed on me. For now I have just adjusted the scroll speed in my browser to like 20% of the default and it seems to work okay. You do kinda get used to it I guess. You can adjust scroll speed in KDE just fine, so if you prefer KDE that isn't an issue.
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I like it, but the microphone doesn't work. They were supposed to make it work last summer, but the work hasn't began for it yet. Without it, I can't do calls to my mom, so I don't use it anymore.
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I used it for a while with an m2 macbook perhaps half a year ago, but ended up getting a PC so I wouldn't have to deal with so much jank.
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unfortunately not all thinkpads are made the same. it seems that, for a while now, lenovo takes a bunch of cheaper laptops and slaps the thinkpad label on them
i personally had a better experience with dell's latitude line, but ymmv
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Apple computers ARE really well put together, maybe no other maker exactly as good. But I’d say the Microsoft Surface line is a similar quality. Razer too though they’re pretty expensive.
Asus zephyrus laptops are pretty great build quality, close to Apple but without the same kind of pricing and markup gouging we get from Apple
Im not an apple hater, they make some great stuff. My point above was just that they don’t have competition in the “I need a Mac” space so their hardware isn’t competitively priced. And their build quality is great, but not every laptop needs to be built like a tank with top of the line components.
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I think people in the Linux community have a predisposition to call Apple products "low quality", but as someone with an M2 Pro MacBook and a Framework 16, the Framework feels like cheap, mushy garbage in comparison. The Framework is still really cool for other reasons, but build quality is not one of them.
The speakers on MacBooks are actually really good (the Framework speakers sound like absolute shit), and the OLED screen + keyboard & trackpad can't be beat. I would run Asahi on it if it supported more than 60Hz on the built-in display and the mic worked. If those two things don't matter to you, you might really enjoy Asahi on a Mac.
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You've heard it several times, now, but once again: Asahi works really well for what it is, but it's definitely a compromised experience. For example, on my M1 Macbook Air I cannot plug in a USB-C dongle and then plug in an external monitor. The driver support just isn't there. I think if I had an Macbook Pro with a built-in HDMI port I would be able to use that... but alas, I do not.
If you want to use macOS and then use Linux on the side now and again in a dual boot setup, sure. If you want to use 100% Linux on your computer... there are better supported options.
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What do you specifically like about macOS in comparison to Linux?
I mean mostly that it works and is easy and intuitive, and has a single dedicated version of every piece of software that's made.
I like Linux as an alternative to Windows but it's a nightmare to figure out how to use.
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He didn't step down from Asahi, just from the Linux kernel maintainers. Another person took over the Linux kernel Maintainer role for Asahi.
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but the work hasn’t began for it yet.
This is completely untrue. The microphone driver is now working in development. Before it can be enabled they need to tweak various userland parameters and configurations that are different between each mac model.
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If you made the mistake of buying an M-series Mac before migrating to Linux, Asahi is a great way to continue using that machine if you're fine with no external displays. Since I only ever use my M1 air on the go, it doesn't bother me.
However, you cannot wipe the existing MacOS install nor stub partitions as they're needed for firmware updates and booting non-mac operating systems. I think I managed to squeeze my macos partition down to something like 40gb, which is a ton of unusable space on my 128GB laptop.
If you're in the market for a new machine, there are better options in terms of affordability and usability, even if you're specifically looking for an ARM device
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I mostly see Asahi Linux as a way to keep these M Macs in use once they’re too old to get official updates and once they become really cheap on the used market.
If on top of this Apple is forced to bring back some repairability/upgradeability, it would be great.
Buying an used computer is the only thing environnementaly friendlier than buying something from a brand like Framework.
