Linux Inventor Linus Torvalds Wants M1 Mac For Linux

Apple caused a sensation with the introduction of its first Macs based on its own ARM SoC, as they seem to bring a rather unexpected performance boost. Linux inventor Linus Torvalds is accordingly enthusiastic and now wants a MacBook with Apple M1.

The new MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Mini have obviously made an impression on Torvalds too so that he too dreams of such a device with an Apple M1 platform based on ARM. The Apple M1 is basically a faster version of Apple’s smartphone CPUs and should also offer advantages in terms of energy efficiency in PC form factors.

In a conversation Unsurprisingly, Torvalds said about Apple’s latest laptops that he would of course very much like to own a MacBook with an M1 CPU – if only Linux would run on it. He still fondly remembers the old 11.6-inch versions of the MacBook Air that he used around a decade ago. Later, however, he chose other devices because Apple simply took too much time to replace the quickly completely outdated display.

Using Linux on ARM Macs is becoming difficult

In the meantime, Apple has solved the display problem by introducing new, significantly higher-resolution panels, but the use of Linux on modern Macs has become significantly less attractive. Apple may run its cloud systems with Linux, but of course not the laptops, according to Torvalds. The new MacBook Air with M1 is probably “almost perfect” for its purposes, apart from the operating system, the Linux inventor continues. He just doesn’t have the time to look at how to get Linux working on one of the new M1-based devices.

He also lacks the need to deal with companies that do not want to provide any help. This should undoubtedly refer to Apple, after all, the US computer company has been striving for its ideal of a “walled garden” for years, where alternative operating systems hardly stand a chance. In general, attractive ARM-based notebooks have long been a dream of Torvalds, he said.